After 9 rounds of the Premier League this season, the defending champion Liverpool suffered 4 consecutive losses after 5 consecutive wins, temporarily ranking 7th.
Commentary Zhan Jun updated social media to talk about Liverpool's current situation, analyzed Liverpool's problems and solutions, and ranked Liverpool's starting lineup for the future league.
Zhan Jun ranked first for Liverpool:
Goalkeeper: Mamardashvili
Defenders: Robertson, Van Dijk, Konate, Joe Gomez/Bradley
Midfielder: Szoboszlai, Hrafenbekh, Ke Thies-Jones
Forwards: Gakpo, Ekitic, Chiesa Jr./Wiltz
Zhan Jun's specific point of view:
Let's talk about the last champion Liverpool, which has suffered four consecutive losses in the league. Where does their problem lie?
Personally, I feel that the biggest problem for the team now is defense, as they are conceding goals in a pattern. Every team now has a very unified approach to dealing with Liverpool, which is to play high-altitude balls, use high-altitude operations to gain the opening, and at the same time defend low and wait patiently for opportunities to counterattack. If a team has the ability to attack from the wing, it will focus its attack on the right, that is, to press the left side of Liverpool's defense. The club's net investment in this summer window reached 220 million pounds. After five consecutive victories, it is really inappropriate to have four consecutive losses. The coaching team must bear the main responsibility.
Let’s talk about the pattern of conceding goals first, that is, in four consecutive rounds, Liverpool conceded the first goal within 15 minutes of the first half. Especially in the Double Red Club, they were already 0-1 behind in less than two minutes of the game. After 9 rounds of games, Liverpool has now conceded 14 goals, compared with only 5 goals in the same period last season.
Why does this happen? Of course, the personnel of the defense line have changed too much. Secondly, in the summer window of this year, the difficulties that the defense line may encounter were underestimated. After letting Kwansa go, there was no way to introduce Crystal Palace center back Guei. And when the two new full-backs failed to meet expectations, Alisson happened to be recovering from injury, so the overall combat capability of the entire defense line was significantly reduced.
So the coaching team headed by Slott can't find the problem? No, it was discovered too late. Slaughter said after the game that he had actually spent almost a day before the game to practice targeting Brentford's set pieces and high-altitude balls, but he still conceded the ball in the early stages of the game.
What to do? I believe many friends often see these four words in their circle of friends, that is, "practice more when you are good". If the team wants to rebound, it must end the bad habit of conceding first in all competitions for nine consecutive games. Personally, I feel that in the face of the current chaos and defeat, Slott must first have his ideal and strongest starting lineup in his mind, and not make too many on-the-spot changes, especially in the midfield position.
In terms of defense, before Alisson returns, we can only hope that Mamardashvili can adapt to the new changes in the Premier League as soon as possible. The central defender must be Van Dijk Gakonate. Then the full-back personally feels that Kyle Ketz’s adaptation is not ideal. He can start in the League Cup, but the most important thing in the league is that Robertson should be re-used in the next round of the game against Villa. On the right side, you might as well consider rotating Gomez and Bradley to see who is in better condition.
Personally, I feel that since the beginning of the season, Sobo has been not only the midfielder, but also the most stable player in the team. The midfielder must have Sobo as the core, and he should not be allowed to play as a right back again. At the same time, I hope that the Dutch international player Grafenberg will return in time. With him and Sobo holding down the midfield, the midfielder's ability to withstand pressure will be enhanced. Considering that the opponent Villa in the next round is particularly strong in the middle of the sports battle, it is necessary to use three midfielders with good defensive abilities in this game. Another one to consider is Curtis Jones.
Isak is still injured. I don’t know if he can return in time for the weekend league, so the more reliable trident will be Gakpo and Ekitic. Try Chiesa or Wirtz on the right. On Salah's side, although he scored a goal in the game against Brentford, apart from the goals, he created almost 0 chances, and he has lost his former style in passing, so you might as well try Chiesa or even Wirtz for this position. Wirtz had double assists in a single game in the Champions League victory over Frankfurt. From a defensive perspective in away games, he may be more suitable as a substitute, but I believe that if Wirtz starts for him at home, he should still make some contributions.
Liverpool will be at home for the next three games, so they must strive to win all three games. Rotations and adjustments can be made in personnel in the League Cup in midweek, but next Saturday against Aston Villa, which has won 4 consecutive league victories, Liverpool must strive to score 3 points. I hope Slott can find the most ideal starting lineup during this period to see if they can bottom out at home.