Liverpool away 5-0 Manchester United, Reds fans on the eyebrows, Manchester United fans full of sad faces. Some people who don't think it's funny to see the hilarity scold Klopp for not talking about martial arts - don't you understand the principle of "scientific cultivation"? What if you directly take Sochaux out of class, the other 18 Premier League teams must not fall out with you?
Unbeaten in 19 games across the season
In the nine league games of the new season, Liverpool are unbeaten with 6 wins and 3 draws, and they are one point behind Chelsea in the table. Putting the perspective a little bigger, liverpool won 8 wins and 2 draws in the last ten rounds of last season, completed the Champions League victory charge under desperate circumstances, surpassed Chelsea by one point and won the third ——— Alisson's "amazing head" at the hawthorn stadium, it was during this period.
That is to say, since the 1-0 away win over Wolves on March 16 this year, Liverpool have completed a cross-season unbeaten 19 league games, during which the Reds scored 48 goals and conceded 12 goals, 11 clean sheets. The attack is indestructible, and the defensive copper wall is iron, as if it is the best appearance.
I don't know if you remember, just before this wave of rushing forward, Liverpool was actually dying. Before beating Wolves 1-0 to start their unbeaten journey, Liverpool fans saw a team that had lost six straight at home, six of their seven league games and had been left behind by Leicester for a full 10 points. At that time, Liverpool's injury was too severe, really to the point where the listener was sad and the hearer wept, and he really did not have the heart to be harsh.
But then, everything was different. Fabinho and Thiago supported the team's midfield, Salah scored 5 goals and 2 assists in the last 10 league games last season, and Mane, who had been dormant for a long time, also shined - 4 goals and 4 assists in the last 10 rounds. And behind all these positive changes, there is no doubt that Klopp has done a great job.
Injury fatigue is accumulating
Van Dijk's comeback is like a hundred million reinforcements, Salah's gun barrel is hot, and Wijnaldum originally seemed irreplaceable, but the high level of performance of Henderson, Fabinho and Keita still made Reds fans temporarily forget about the Dutchman... Klopp succeeded in getting the team back on track, getting the already luxurious squad back to where they should be. So, although Liverpool did not make significant reinforcements this summer, they managed to extend the momentum of the late last season to this season.
Then, now in the big win against Manchester United, Milner and Keita went down injured. Klopp said after the match that Milner had some strains on his hamstrings, and Keita's condition still needs to be observed – "he suffered a heavy blow to his tibia".
So far in the new season, the number one player in Liverpool's midfield area is naturally Henderson, who has started 7 times in 9 league games and made 1 substitute for a total of 639 minutes. Then there's Fabinho at 479 minutes, Milner at 368 minutes, Keita at 346 minutes... After that, there's 18-year-old Curtis Jones (235 minutes). Chamberlain, who has played a total of 120 minutes in 1 start and 3 substitutes, has been somewhat marginalized.
Klopp
Thiago had been saying "a possible comeback after the international match day" a month ago, and now that almost half a month has passed since the international match day, there is still no news of when he will return to the stadium. If Milner and Keita are hanging up their free cards at the same time, the shadow of the "human shortage" that terrified the Reds last season may once again hover over Anfield.
Although the midfield has always been a less dazzling line for Liverpool, the Reds' high pressure, the front of the back row and the coordinated assault of the wingers and full-backs are behind the conscientious running and confrontation support of the midfield. Once the midfield power is not supplied, the overall attack and defense of the Red Army will immediately fail to meet the beat, and the pace will probably slow down suddenly. The overall operation is blocked, and it may be necessary to drive the team more through Salah's personal strengths, then the risk of injury of core players will increase.
Africa Cup of Nations Shadow
In addition to injuries, there is another boulder related to "personnel issues" hanging over Liverpool's head, that is, the Africa Cup of Nations, which starts next January. In June last year, the African Cup of Nations announced the postponement due to the epidemic problem, which was also interpreted by the media as "Liverpool's victory for the title", but then Van Dijk's serious injury destroyed all visions. Now Liverpool are struggling to get up... As a result, the African Cup of Nations is here again.
What does the African Cup of Nations mean? It means that Salah, Keita, Mane, Liverpool's midfield "three-quarters wall" will return to the king, according to the current league statistics, the team will lose the top scorer, the second scorer and the top assist king. Is it hard to expect Firmino to suddenly transform into a "Fitzma" and carry the team forward?
Around January, it was also a period of great pressure on Liverpool's schedule. On 28 December, he played Leicester away from Chelsea three days later. From mid-January to early February, the team played Brentford at home, Crystal Palace away and Leicester at home. These events are likely to be more or less affected by the Africa Cup of Nations, preventing the Reds from playing at their best.
Under Salah's highlight performance, the problem of frontal replacement, which has been discussed a season or two ago and has not been fundamentally resolved, has been temporarily covered up. The midfield problem is on the verge of erupting... After all, Wijnaldum is really gone, and Milner is really old. Liverpool are really in a very good situation right now, and they may be able to extend this wave of unbeaten streaks for a few more weeks, but there are still some problems ahead that cannot be ignored.
Author: Former Arsenal fan De Cheng, who firmly believes chelsea have won the title
Editor: A good man who has saved money to invite Manchester United fan Aunt Chen to eat barbecue