Liverpool FC: What the Reds need to worry about now

We are only seven games into the season and the Premier League standings table is already looking very good.

The two Manchester clubs lead the table with 19 points each. Then there are the three main London clubs behind them (Spurs have 14 points, Arsenal and Chelsea have 13 each).

In sixth position is Sean Dyche’s Burnley with 12 points and they should be appreciated for their performances especially considering the tough away games they had so far. And behind Burnley is Merseyside club Liverpool with 12 points.

 

Pressure mounting on Klopp and his men

There is only a difference of two points between the seventh placed Liverpool and third places Tottenham.

However, there seems to be a lot of pressure on Jurgen Klopp and his men. The Reds have only got just one win in their previous seven games in all tournaments and we can understand why they are criticised immensely.

Liverpool’s defensive woes have been shown as the primary reason for the club’s below par performances. Even though the statement is true, there is also another reason why they have been failing.

It is as clear as daylight that the Liverpool defense needs some change. Klopp failed to get a new centre back in the summer transfer window and he is being criticised for that.

 

Attack not up to par

The defense along with a non-solid midfield have concede some sloppy goals this season, but as a Liverpool fan something else worries me more.

Like mentioned before, we know the Liverpool defense is poor and they have been proving that. However, we also know that the the club’s attacking line-up is fearsome.

With the likes of Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah we expect them to score some good amount of goals. We have seen them finding the bet quite easily last season, but that hasn’t been the case recently.

The defense is poor and they are not improving either, but Liverpool do not have much options there. As a Liverpool fan I think we have to wait till January for something to happen. However the attack is supposed to be strong, but they are not up to the mark currently and that upsets me.

 

Poor finishing, especially from Salah

Mohamed Salah is Liverpool’s top scorer with 5 goals.

Although he has done very well since joining the Reds this transfer window and being the team’s top scorer, his finishing has been way off the mark. Salah is the club’s player with the best shot accuracy in the Premier League. The Egyptian has a shot accuracy percentage of 65% with a total 23 shots.

If Salah had put away half of the chances that he missed, Liverpool would have been in a much better position now. I am not criticising, I am just trying to show the club’s current situation.

The defense has been poor, the midfield has been below par and the attack has not performed as good as everyone expected them to, but still the Reds are creating chances and are managing the find the back of the net. Now imagine what would have happened, if the players were little more clinical and took advantage of the chances.

Liverpool’s shots per game in the Premier League is 19.6 and in the Champions League it is 20 (19.8 on average). The average shots on target per game is 6.7 and the have scored about 1.8 goals per game(in Champions League and Premier League only). The stats are not too bad, but they definitely could have done better.

Liverpool’s shot conversion rate in the previous seven games (in which they only won one) has been even worse. They have taken 143 shots in their previous seven matches out of which only 36 were on target and have only scored from just eight of them.

That is a really really bad record. No wonder they have only won one game in those games.

 

Hosting Manchester United is a chance for Liverpool to bounce back

This Saturday, when we return from the international break, Liverpool face Manchester United at Anfield. The match after international break did not go very well for the Reds last time as they lost 5-0 to Manchester United’s derby rivals Manchester City.

Liverpool will be looking to get things right and get back on track.

A win against their arch rivals at Anfield would do wonders, but that is not as easy as it sounds. If they are going to continue their poor finishing record and sloppy defense, winning against The Red Devils sounds like a miracle.

 

The Liverpool attack needs to be more clinical on Saturday and should make sure they take their chances against the Ballon d’Or-nominated David de Gea. If they do that, half the pressure will be taken off them.

 

Written by Dakir Thanveer

Follow Dakir on Twitter @ZakWriter

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