Here is your Liverpool morning digest for Tuesday, January 3.
Liverpool cross unforgivable line with Brentford defeat
New year, same old problems. And doesn’t Jurgen Klopp know it, writes Ian Doyle.
The Liverpool boss cut a hugely frustrated figure as he prowled the technical area in almost disbelief as his team crumbled to a new low of a rollercoaster campaign.
Clearly, it will take a lot more than a different calendar to cure the ills that continue to plague this infuriatingly inconsistent Reds team.
READ MORE: Liverpool player ratings as Van Dijk, Tsimikas and Elliott awful at Brentford
READ MORE: Liverpool 'exploring innovative £44m deal' to sign Wolves midfielder Matheus Nunes
But what can change? What can be done to ensure Liverpool aren’t cut adrift in the race for Champions League qualification?
The timing of this season’s worst loss at Brentford was particularly worrying given it came mere days after Klopp admitted he doesn’t expect to “splash the cash” in this month’s transfer window with calls for a new midfielder growing louder. The answers, then, are seemingly going to have to come from within.
Cody Gakpo, the one guaranteed new face, will help. So too will the return of some more experienced heads in James Milner and Roberto Firmino. But keeping Liverpool in the top-four hunt before Diogo Jota and later Luis Diaz return is by no means a certainty.
The first half here was shocking. There had been obvious signs in Friday’s win over Leicester City that Liverpool were operating nowhere near their best.
But that couldn’t explain an opening 45 minutes in which the Reds looked alarmingly short of tempo, pace, appetite, energy, application, quality, commonsense, composure and, yes, heart. They were lucky to be only 2-0 down – a few more inches and it would have been double that.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
Jurgen Klopp explains early Virgil van Dijk substitution
Jurgen Klopp has explained his decision to replace Virgil van Dijk at half-time in Liverpool’s dreadful Premier League defeat at Brentford.
Van Dijk was one of three changes made during the interval as the Reds sought to respond after slumping 2-0 behind at the Gtech Community Stadium on Monday evening.
While Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain pulled a goal back shortly into the second half, Liverpool eventually lost 3-1 in a major blow to their hopes of Champions League qualification.
And Klopp revealed Van Dijk, who was replaced by Joel Matip, had complained of discomfort but allayed fears of a significant injury.
“Virgil felt a little bit the muscle and said it is fine, and he is a very good judge of these kind of things,” said the Reds boss. “But I didn’t want to take any risks.
“The physios looked quite happy when I said we don’t take risks. It’s not an injury, he just felt the intensity.”
READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
READ NEXT:
Jamie Carragher gives damning half-time verdict that sums up big Liverpool problems
Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool 'will not splash the cash' amid midfielder rumours
- Jude Bellingham and four other players Liverpool are 'tipped to sign' in January transfer window
- Liverpool signing forced through transfer with 'little lie' he owed up to at press conference unveiling
- Jude Bellingham set for 'showdown talks' amid Liverpool and Real Madrid transfer interest
