Nearly a month since Liverpool’s last Premier League match, it turns out they haven’t fixed their problems at all, as several of the worst showed up in an eventful 3-3 draw with Brighton.
Liverpool 3-3 Brighton
Premier League (7), AnfieldOctober 1, 2022
Goals: Firmino 33′ 53′ Webster Y 63′; Trossard 4′ 17′ 83′
Welcome back!
Maybe we should look forward to international holidays instead of fearing and hating them.
After one game in four weeks, the players should have been itching to get started, particularly as the results and performances before Ajax’s win were absolutely stinking.
Instead, what happened was the Reds stunk the place up for 25 minutes, as bad an Anfield display as any we’ve seen this season.
Supporters and media have repeatedly mentioned how Liverpool’s slow starts led to them conceding first, and how that in turn led to so many lost points or much bigger battles in games than might have been the case.
Jurgen Klopp has not liked that question, or having to explain it, but it is now the 12th time in 15 games, in all competitions, that Liverpool have conceded first.
But when it took a quick start and a positive outlook, they were once again terrible, sloppy, slow, reactive, completely unable to match the speed of the game or the movement of the visitors and, frankly, lucky not to be three or four down. . the half hour mark.
Paying the faith of a manager
We all know the background and discussion by now: Trent Alexander-Arnold is barred from the England squad, called out for defensive shortcomings by Gareth Southgate and backed by Klopp.
So it couldn’t have been a much worse time for him to make a bad switch from a defensive standpoint.
Trent was trash in the first half.
And let’s not get airy or funny about it being due to a high starting point or a ball behind him when he’s trying to fight back or anything like that – this was one-on-one defense, clearing headers, tracking down runners just a few yards away. and choosing the right pass from the defensive third.
The second half didn’t improve enough in this regard either, with the added bonus of passed and missed clearances.
He was directly to blame for at least three really good starts for Brighton, including being involved in both goals.
If we take partisan favoritism out of the equation and just judge the season’s performances (although the England manager doesn’t do that either), would Trent really be in the squad? He wouldn’t.
He is capable of so much more, and so is this team as a whole.
On the subject of England internationals, Jordan Henderson was another one who in that first half hour was simply lousy again.
He surely got better on the ball as the game went on, but being hooked before the hour mark, once again, had as much to do with a poor performance as it did with his low fitness levels after the latest injury.
shiny bobby
Liverpool’s top scorer this season? Roberto Firmino, with five to his name.
An early birthday present for the Brazilian, who did not play a minute with the Seleção in the international break, with two very good shots to level the match and one or two chances to score his hat-trick, too.
This was near the peak of Bobby, with some really good link play at times, lots of clever channel movement, and a fully deserved ovation when he walked off for the final 15 minutes.
In truth, it might have been a surprise to see Firmino in the lineup; Diogo Jota started against Ajax and did reasonably well, while Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz were also out in South America but also got some playing time.
What comes next for No. 9 is important.
We’ve noted here before that he was tremendous in front of goal until around this time of year last season, before suffering a series of injuries and absences that meant he fell from favour, playing fewer than 1,000 minutes in the top flight in 2021/ 22.
He’s already hit around 420 for this season and must maintain this consistency and effectiveness if he wants to be part of the biggest attacking trio in the final year of his contract.
Change the flow of the game and fail in
Key moments helped Liverpool get this game back under some kind of control, although it certainly wasn’t completely controlled at any point.
Even when leading, Brighton had several chances where they were behind the defense and playing inside the six-yard box.
Some credit has to go to Fabio Carvalho and Thiago who were trying to pick up the pace of the game in that first half when the Reds were so terrible, especially shortly before our first goal.
Then the subs had a good impact too: Diaz’s introduction at halftime, bringing in Harvey Elliott and even Jota’s cameo wasn’t bad in terms of having a quick exit.
But no change at all gave Liverpool the feeling that the game was over, nor that they had any idea how to kill him.
He continued to be chaotic, open and too easy to get behind the defence, which ultimately proved enough to deny victory – Leandro Trossard’s hat-trick was the third time Brighton had slipped behind the right half of the back four in space. about 15 minutes. .
Whatever this season’s team identity is, it’s certainly not intensity, and it’s hard to say it even has one this season.
Six weeks nonstop
This was game one of 13 Liverpool must play in the next 44 days: a crazy schedule before the World Cup and a decisive one for how good (or not) our season can be.
Not the best of starts, then.
It goes without saying that in Europe, consecutive games against Rangers have to give six points, and they should. They are not elite caliber.
But the bigger focus must still be on achieving his own levels of performance, on and off the ball, as quickly as possible and with better defensive control.
The next step in the Premier League is Arsenal, the current leader of the league and a team with a lot of movement and speed in possession.
A lot has to change in the coming week for us to have a reasonable level of optimism that a victory in the Emirates will follow.
