Here are your Liverpool evening headlines for Thursday, February 4.
Michael Owen questions midfield
Michael Owen has questioned the make-up of Liverpool's midfield trio, stating that they are all similar players that do not help the Reds execute the high-intensity press that has been a staple of their play under Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool lost their second successive home match to Brighton on Wednesday, and Owen believes that Klopp needs to rejiggle his midfield options.
"I often think as that Mane when he plays and Salah they’re better when they start wide," he told Premier League productions. "Think of the chance Salah had early on, he needs to start wide and run inside as soon as Firmino drops in it leaves those gaps and they come wide.
"A lot of the time this season they’ve been starting narrow and then you’ve got nowhere to run the only way you can run is out and away from the goal. I think Liverpool are better when they have width.
"They get clustering. They have a lot of samey players in midfield in Thiago, Wijnaldum and Milner. I would like to see them stretching play a lot more, upping the tempo, winning the ball high again, committing players forward to win the ball high, they have to do it, they have to stem it themselves because they don’t have the Anfield crowd.
"You can react off the crowd, it’s a powerful thing but they can’t call upon that now they need to do it themselves to get this monkey off their back.
"I don’t fear for them against Manchester City or against better teams. It’s against packed defenders that I think they’re running out of ideas."
"Pathetic" performance criticised
Former Premier League defender Jason Cundy brandished Liverpool's performance as "pathetic" and questioned whether history is repeating itself after Klopp's final season at Borussia Dortmund imploded.
Liverpool performed poorly against Brighton ad have struggled for goals in recent weeks, and Cundy did not hold back in his criticism.
"I’m still not convinced Liverpool are back to where they were," he told talkSPORT via HITC. "Looking at this result here tells you they’re not firing. That was pathetic from Liverpool, let’s call it as it is. That was pathetic.
"They’re up against a side, credit to Brighton on the back of a good, well-deserved win against Spurs – Spurs were pathetic – but that’s the defending champions you’ve just watched there.
"A whimper. Disgraceful. Shocking. They’re up against a side, credit to Brighton on the back of a good, well-deserved win against Spurs – Spurs were pathetic – but that’s the defending champions you’ve just watched there. A whimper. Disgraceful. Shocking."
Cundy added: "And you know what, history might be repeating itself because you look back at what Klopp did at (Borussia) Dortmund when he finished second, how their season imploded.
"And this is something that has happened with Klopp before when he was in Germany. He demands so much, and his demands have been brilliant, but are we looking at a Liverpool side now that have just run out of gas?
"Because that is not the Liverpool I know. That’s not the Klopp Liverpool that we have seen over the last three seasons."
Fourth might not be enough for Champions League
After their defeat to Brighton, Liverpool may struggle to finish in the top three, nevermind challenge for the title.
There is, of course, still a long way to go, and they are only two points behind Leicester City, but it is not guaranteed like many believed at the start of the campaign.
And if Liverpool finish fourth, there is no guarantee that they will be handed Champions League football next season.
If English teams win the Europa League and Champions League but do not qualify for the Champions League via their domestic league, they will be handed priority over the fourth-placed team. And given that only five teams from the same league can qualify for the Champions League, the fourth-placed team would miss out.
Based on current standings, this would require Chelsea winning the Champions League and either Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur winning the Europa League, which, while unlikely, is not entirely inconceivable.
