KLOPP CAN SAVE LIVERPOOL'S SEASON BY STARTING £85K-P/W STAR IN FRESH ROLE

Liverpool were thrown an unlikely lifeline on Sunday after one of the most chastening, depressing days of Jurgen Klopp's tenure, with their inexplicable Premier League loss to Crystal Palace at home followed by title rivals Arsenal's late fall against Aston Villa in north London.

Whether Arsenal's Emirates defeat serves only as a reprieve for a Liverpool side that has suffered back-to-back Anfield losses at a crucial stage of the season, having overcome so much and weathered the fiercest of storms, will become clearer in the weeks to come. Ultimately, Manchester City now have the lead in the closing stage, which is ominous, and customary.

Liverpool travel to Italy to meet Atalanta in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie next. The Reds have been the clear-cut competition favourites from the off; they trail 3-0 after an error-strewn mess of a performance last Thursday.

Following, three away fixtures in the top-flight in seven days: Fulham, Everton and West Ham United will all present tough tests against an out-of-sorts, sapped side, and a falter in any one game might prove fatal in the fight for a fitting finale to Klopp's reign.

All told, a thrilling season of illustrious promise hangs by a fragile thread, and Klopp will now need to conjure up a sizeable portion of the magic that has worked such wonders over the past nine years.

But not for the first time, he is faced with something of a quandary in defence.

Liverpool's recent defensive performances

There has always been a sense that Liverpool have been flourishing above expectations - perhaps even above their level - this season, with the unwavering, brilliant belief and desire causing so many turnarounds.

But the never-say-die attitude is not a suitable foundation for title-winning success, and after Eberechi Eze slashed into the net following Tyrick Mitchell after just 14 minutes on Sunday afternoon, the hosts' leaky bulwark finally capitulated on Premier League soil.

Admittedly, the incredible wastefulness in front of goal proved to be the glaring issue of the demise, but as Andy Robertson conceded post-match: "Obviously all of us in front of goal aren’t exactly in a hot streak and we’re not keeping clean sheets, so the results are never going to be in our favour."

Chance after chance after chance after chance after chance. That might seem repetitive but that is emblematic of Liverpool's woes in front of goal, marred by profligacy that has now unravelled the hopes of winning the two biggest honours of the campaign.

But be that as it may, Liverpool's defensive struggles have been the true crux of the collapse. Across 32 Premier League fixtures this season, Liverpool have conceded the opening goal 21 times. Attacks win games, defences win titles - a well-known footballing proverb, apt in Klopp's side's circumstances.

Liverpool have kept one clean sheet across 11 Premier League fixtures, and while Virgil van Dijk has been largely imperious this season, he is not infallible and has been let down by Ibrahima Konate and Jarell Quansah in recent weeks.

The latter can hardly be blamed after one mistake, detrimental as it may have been, against Manchester United over one week ago, having emerged from the academy at the start of the season, fuelled by a successful loan spell in League One with Bristol Rovers last year, to combat the season-ending injury to Joel Matip in December and start 22 games in all competitions.

But Konate, who was questionably rested at Old Trafford, has endured two torrid games against Atalanta and the Eagles, making mistakes in both and lacking the poise and powerful command that has been so important for his club in recent months.

The Athletic's James Pearce has lamented his "dreadful" recent work, while The Liverpool Echo's Ian Doyle branded him with a 4/10 match rating in Europe and the same again against Oliver Glasner's jubilant team on Sunday, who won their first away match since November at Anfield.

The time has come; Klopp has to make a change. And Joe Gomez might now be ready to slot back into a fresh role in central defence.

Why Liverpool must move Joe Gomez to centre-back

Gomez is as dynamic as they come and has played myriad roles for Liverpool this season, regularly featuring on both sides of the backline and even deployed in defensive midfield on a couple of no-other-option occasions.

The £85k-per-week man hasn't played much in central defence this season - just five times from 45 outings - but Gomez is hardly averse to sitting alongside Van Dijk in a championship-winning central defence, and Klopp might now be inclined to make the adjustment.

In 2019/20, the year Liverpool conquered the modern Premier League for the first and only time, Gomez played the lion's share of his football in the middle of the rearguard, alongside Van Dijk, and he was remarked as looking like "a young Virgil van Dijk" by Reds icon Sami Hyypia for his displays that season.

His crispness and alacrity to put in a shift in any position have made him indispensable this year, and while he's had his detractors over recent years, he has been described as "absolutely priceless" due to this tactical flexibility by pundit Steve McManaman.

As per FBref, the recently-recalled England international ranks among the top 9% of full-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for passes attempted, the top 18% for progressive passes and the top 4% for aerial duels won per 90.

At 6 foot 2 he's indeed capable of playing the part in the centre once again, with a staggering aerial duel success rate of 73% in the Premier League this season to evidence this, as per Sofascore.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold returning from injury, Gomez's skill set is not required at right-back with the same urgency; moreover, Robertson's commitment and drive at left-back has been one of the few bright sparks over the past several matches.

Whether Klopp will make such a drastic change in this crucial late phase remains to be seen, but Konate and Quansah have seen fragilities brutally exposed of late.

What's there to lose? The Premier League title? Unfortunately, Manchester City are now in the driving seat, and if Liverpool are to expunge this recent malaise, thinking outside the box might just be the order of the day.

2024-04-15T23:47:28Z dg43tfdfdgfd