Liverpool continues to stumble out of the gates under beloved headmaster Jürgen Klopp in the 2022-23 Premier League season after the Reds were forced to settle for a share of the spoils at Anfield in a 3-3 draw against Brighton.
An inspired performance by Belgian international forward Leandro Trossard saw the 27-year-old bag a hat-trick to help new Seagulls tactician Roberto De Zerbi earn a valuable point in his competitive managerial debut as he looks to fill the vacancy left after Graham Potter’s departure to Chelsea, with Liverpool having to fight tooth and nail to take anything away on Merseyside but were ultimately denied seven minutes from time by the former KRC Genk standout.
It was another frustrating and uncharacteristic performance from the Reds in a domestic campaign that has only seen them deposit two wins into their league account thus far and are already eleven points adrift from table-topping Arsenal after the Gunners put Tottenham Hotspur FC back in their place in a 3-1 North London Derby win at the Emirates.
That’s now 12 times in the last 15 games (all comps) Liverpool have conceded first. On five of those occasions they’ve gone 1-0 down within the first five mins. These horrendous starts can’t just be seen as a blip anymore – this is the norm.
— Joel Rabinowitz (@joel_archie) October 1, 2022
If a draw against European-driven Brighton was not bad enough for Klopp and company, a growing trend that has taken roots in the Liverpool campaign this season and carries over from 2021-22 has come to light after it was revealed that the Reds have allowed the first goal in twelve of their last fifteen fixtures across all competitions.
To make matters worse, not only has Liverpool gone behind their opposition on five of those twelve occasions inside the opening five minutes of action, but an even more worrying realization has seen the Anfield outfit go into half-time in control of the scoreline on one occasion in their last sixteen fixtures.
Certainly, there is a difference between tactical hiccups and trends that have staying power, and there are few that could argue against the latter being the unfortunate state of affairs at the club currently.
The former SL Benfica starlet was meant to challenge Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, and Son Heung-min for the golden boot this season – at least on paper – but has thus far spectacularly failed in his main tasking as the 23-year-old has managed just one goal in six combined appearances across the Premier League and Champions League.
With questions surrounding Liverpool’s failure to add quality in the center of the park in conjunction with the reality that they sorely miss their former mercurial Senegalese star, the timing of the tactical downturn at Anfield comes in the very same season that saw Klopp’s Dortmund tenure come to an end after a similar meteoric rise akin to his stint with Liverpool.
Though there is still plenty of time for the Reds to correct their current misgivings, the clock is certainly ticking if they have any ambition to get back in the thick of the fight for the Premier League title.
