Under Jurgen Klopp’s leadership, Liverpool has raised the bar considerably. With a team that featured elite talent across the board, the Reds had a chance to contend for major awards up until last season. A dismal 2022/2023 campaign, though, fell far short of Anfield’s expectations after Liverpool came dangerously close to completing an unprecedented quadruple.
A lackluster showing from players who were integral to their team’s winning run cost them a Champions League spot, and it painfully highlighted the need for major midfield improvements if the Reds were to challenge as seriously as they had in previous years. Liverpool’s summer business has been positively impacted by the season’s early indicators. In the summer, Klopp added Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch, giving him the option to rotate midfield players as needed. Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, who replaced Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, immediately took up first-choice midfield positions.
The Hungarian has quickly become a fan favorite at Anfield. Mac Allister and Szoboszlai’s ability to win the ball back quickly and move it up the pitch effectively has allowed Klopp’s team to establish far greater control over matches than it did for much of the previous season. He appears to be a great deal, even considering his €70 million price tag. As a result of Klopp’s deeper use of Mac Allister than usual, he has had a little more trouble adjusting to his new persona. The Argentine has looked uneasy playing as the lone defensive midfielder, as evidenced by his turnover of the ball in the build-up to Brighton’s opening goal in the 2-2 draw last weekend, even though he has still shown many of the traits that made Liverpool want to sign him over the summer.
Mac Allister can be a very effective player in a more advanced role, as demonstrated by his inch-perfect assist to Darwin Nunez in Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over West Ham. However, the Reds are vulnerable because of his current positioning. Additionally, their cause has not been greatly aided by their negligence in the back, especially in the early exchanges. In eight games, they have only managed one clean sheet, and their 3-1 victories over Bournemouth, West Ham, and Wolves were fortunate to have resulted in fewer goals conceded. These teams lacked the skill to take advantage of Liverpool’s defensive weakness, but Brighton did, as the Reds’ susceptibility finally got the better of them at the Amex last Saturday. But strangely, when down a man, Klopp’s team has shown far more discipline and tenacity.
This season, they have already experienced three instances of this, and on each occasion, they maintained an exceptionally well-organized defense, gave their opponents few opportunities, and posed a threat when going on the attack. When Mac Allister was wrongfully sent off against Bournemouth (the PGMOL later admitted the mistake and reversed his suspension for the following game), the Reds were already ahead. They went on to win the match easily, and they even added a third goal to seal the victory. Nunez came off the bench to steal an incredible win in stoppage time after pulling Liverpool level minutes earlier. Despite being down a man and a goal away at Newcastle, they withstood waves of pressure from the hosts. Nobody can fault the Reds for the tenacity they showed to tie the score after a questionable Curtis Jones red card, even though stoppage time at Tottenham brought about a devastating first loss of the season. A very unfortunate own goal by Joel Matip and shocking levels of incompetence in the VAR room were required to deny Klopp’s team what would have been a well-earned point, even after Diogo Jota’s dismissal left them with nine men. After such an admirable defensive performance a week earlier, however, they were solely responsible for giving Brighton additional points.
The fact that Brighton’s goals were primarily the consequence of Mac Allister’s careless giveaway in the middle of the park and Andy Robertson’s inability to clear a free kick left Liverpool fans frustrated at the end of the match, even though many of them may have been content with a draw at the Amex prior to kickoff. Liverpool has shown encouraging signs in the early going of the season with both its forward quality and mental toughness. That has, however, also shown time and time again that it is still a work in progress.
