Here are your Liverpool morning headlines for Tuesday, 6 October.
Liverpool boss facing decisions ahead of Merseyside derby
Jurgen Klopp has a number of decisions to make ahead of Liverpool’s next fixture against Everton following the horror show at Villa Park.
The Reds suffered their worst league defeat since 1963 on Sunday, losing 7-2 to Aston Villa, giving Klopp a lot to think about ahead of the Merseyside derby against the Premier League table-toppers later this month.
Jordan Henderson will be back available for the match against Everton, but should Thiago Alcantara be introduced into the line-up after a self-isolation period due after contracting Covid-19?
Roberto Firmino and Joe Gomez have started the season in poor form and so Klopp might have to make a call on their continued involvement in the first team too. Ian Doyle runs through the big decisions Klopp is facing.
Alisson Becker’s absence brings other concerns for Liverpool
Liverpool were dealt a blow when it was revealed over the weekend that Alisson Becker will miss as much as six weeks of action through injury.
Second-choice goalkeeper Adrian was shaky throughout the Reds’ 7-2 defeat by Aston Villa on Sunday, but it’s not just the drop-off in quality in the figure between the posts that will be of concern to Jurgen Klopp.
All the big LFC headlines reviewed in the Morning Bulletin podcast HERE
“Adrian made a mistake for the first goal against Aston Villa,” Ian Doyle explained on the Blood Red podcast . “But what that then exposed, I think, is that there are certain players who play a lot better when Alisson is there, and Joe Gomez is almost certainly one of them.
“Klopp said Liverpool didn’t react properly to what happened with the first goal and that’s correct - they could have sorted that out.
“And Gomez did not have a good game - he came off after an hour, a bit of an act of mercy - while Joel Matip is injured and Fabinho doesn’t solve it because he was almost as bad as Gomez in midfield.”
The truth about Liverpool’s high line and the shocking defeat to Aston Villa
What happened to Liverpool on Sunday was shocking, with the Premier League champions suffering their heaviest league defeat since 1963 by conceding seven against Aston Villa.
However, Jurgen Klopp has previously spoken about learning from the losses his side suffer and so the German will undoubtedly examine what went wrong at Villa Park and aim to correct the mistakes made in future.
Josh Williams looks at the high defensive line employed by Liverpool in the defeat and whether it will have to be adapted moving forward to ensure the Reds don’t suffer a humiliation like this again.
While previous heavy defeats early on in Klopp’s came as a sign of the need to change things, this particular loss should serve only as a wake-up call to the Premier League champions.
