Since the end of the World Cup, no player has bagged more goals for Liverpool than Leicester City’s Wout Faes, who scored two own goals at Anfield in late December.
Over the last week, a shocking revelation has emerged in Liverpool. It’s hard to believe, but no player has scored more Premier League goals for Liverpool since the World Cup ended than Leicester City’s Wout Faes, who scored two own goals at Anfield in late December.
The Foxes center-back made the trip to Merseyside for his team’s final game of 2022, and he accidentally found the net twice, allowing Jürgen Klopp to pick up a 2-1 victory. Since the winter tournament, no Liverpool player has scored as many goals as Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, and even Stefan Bajeti.
It is a damning truth, and it may provide an explanation.
an insight into Klopp’s relatively makeshift and unfinished attack this term. The Reds have primarily struggled on the defensive side of the game this season, conceding the same number of Premier League goals as 18th-placed Everton, but as the season has progressed, the attack has also begun to stutter.
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Liverpool has 34 goals from 20 games, one fewer than Brentford and four fewer than Brighton and Hove Albion, who have played the same number of games. Klopp is dealing with an ongoing injury crisis up front, but his offensive blueprint for the future is unknown.
Over the last 12 months, the Reds have sanctioned big-money moves for attacking players such as Darwin Nez, Luis Daz, and Cody Gakpo, with the latter two names oddly preferring to occupy the same position on the left side of the field. It remains to be seen how Gakpo and Daz will play together, though Klopp has given hints recently by fielding the former through the center.
The Dutchman has shown glimpses of what he’s capable of on the pitch, but he’s not known as a man for the final third, and Nez thrived as a central talisman for Benfica last season, scoring 26 Portuguese top-flight goals. The 23-year-old striker wishes to make use of empty spaces.
Salah’s role on the right wing seems locked in place, but his form has deteriorated this season and he looks like less of a focal point in comparison to the past. Indeed, the Egyptian international is touching the ball less than ever in a red shirt, and he’s shooting a lot less than last season too when Liverpool almost secured an unprecedented quadruple. How will Klopp find a way of getting him more involved?
On top of those concerns, Fábio Carvalho has appeared like a peculiar fit on Merseyside. Having joined from Fulham last summer, the Portuguese starlet was signed having prospered as a number 10 under Marco Silva, but such a role doesn’t exist within Klopp’s favored 4-3-3 system.
As a consequence, Carvalho has been used out wide and even in central midfield at times. With the team’s results falling off a cliff since the new year, the 20-year-old has barely been used, with Klopp seeming reluctant to present him with minutes during such a turbulent time. There’s also the confusion as to whether the promising but raw Harvey Elliott is regarded as a midfielder or as a forward.
Overall, Klopp has a plethora of useful tools at his disposal. Salah, Carvalho, Gakpo, Nez, Daz, Elliott, Diogo Jota, and Roberto Firmino all have real game qualities, but no one can predict how each player will thrive in the same team, where they will play, or what formation they will form.
For the time being, Liverpool is presenting fans with more questions than answers, and the club’s recruitment decisions are becoming increasingly perplexing. The hope is that Klopp has devised a grand plan beneath the surface, but there is no evidence at this time.
The big plus is that Liverpool has added a slew of attacking options in recent transfer windows. To move forward, it is simply a matter of designing a system that allows each player to thrive, and Klopp has demonstrated this ability throughout his managerial career.
It will be difficult, but Liverpool should be able to overcome their strange reliance on own goals in no time.
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