Liverpool continued their shaky start to the current campaign this week after a 4-1 defeat against Napoli. Comprehensive defeat doesn’t even tell the whole story. The Italian giants also saved a penalty kick and also squandered a great open goal opportunity. Defensively, a usual strength of the Merseyside club, they were a huge flop on the night.
Going into the campaign, Liverpool had allowed the fewest Premier League goals in three of the last four seasons. While defense has been a huge asset in recent seasons, they haven’t played their best on defense so far in 2022/23.
Liverpool’s disappointing start to the season
The Reds have managed to collect just two wins in their first seven games of the season. They have allowed 10 goals in total in these matches. To put their problems in perspective, Liverpool did not allow their 10th goal of the season until October 19 last season.
After the game, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher wondered if his club’s dominance might be coming to an end.
“For me, the big concern is that this is almost something that will continue throughout the season. Is this the end of a cycle?” he questioned on the CBS Sports postgame show. “It’s the actual performances probably more than the results that I’m worried about right now.”
Manager Jurgen Klopp also expressed his frustration after Napoli’s loss. “We were not compact defensively or offensively,” Klopp explained to BT Sport. “With Alisson in goal, you have to be very bad to concede three goals [in the first half]. You could see it on the field. We didn’t work as a team. That’s why we lose games.”
“It’s the actual performances probably more than the results that I’m worried about at the moment…”@Carra23 thinks Liverpool’s high-risk style is working against them. pic.twitter.com/B8HBzY1SAA
– CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 7, 2022
Klopp also claimed that his Liverpool’s next opponent would laugh while watching the game.
“We have to play in three days against Wolves. If the Wolves watched that game tonight they wouldn’t stop laughing and say it’s the perfect time.”
Although some have suggested the German could be under fire like Thomas Tuchel, his former Chelsea counterpart, Klopp seems calm about the situation.
“The difference is that they [Chelsea’s owners] They are different types of owners. Our owners are quite calm and expect me to resolve the situation and they don’t think someone else should resolve it.”
Liverpool hope to stabilize the ship when they host Wolves at Anfield this Saturday.
