Ex-Liverpool defender and pundit Jamie Carragher no longer sees Jürgen Klopp’s hand in Liverpool’s game. According to the Sky Sports analyst, the intensity has disappeared from the game, too much value is placed on possession and opponents are not under sufficient pressure. Carragher speculated after the defeat against Brentford that Pepijn Lijnders has caused changes in the style of play.
Liverpool had 73 percent possession against Brentford. But according to Carragher, fell into old patterns from Klopp’s early days, “I feel like we’re looking at the Liverpool of the early years under Klopp. It was always a problem then that Liverpool, when in possession, were vulnerable to the counterattack. But I don’t know what happened in midfield. Liverpool have only signed one good midfielder in the last 4.5 years, in Thiago. They will now be presented with the bill for that.”
According to Carragher, Liverpool is turning too much into a ‘technical team’, especially in midfield, referring to the importance of playing on the ball. “The only team I can compare it to is Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal that I played against. That was once a fantastic football team, but opponents especially did not know what to do with the speed and the physical game. After that the team changed into a very technical whole and won nothing anymore,” the former defender commented.
The Dutch way of possession is ruining Liverpool
“I don’t know if there is a certain influence from Pep Lijnders, who has a lot of say,” Carragher referred to Klopp’s assistant. “Maybe it’s a Dutch way of thinking, that you always have to have the ball. Or that they always have to make small adjustments because opponents are used to them.”
“I remember how Klopp’s era started, with an away game against Tottenham Hotspur (0-0 in October 2015, ed.). Forget the quality of the players. The players were constantly sprinting across the field and we mostly thought: wow! I no longer see Liverpool players sprinting and pinning opponents, but they are still high on the pitch. This is not a Liverpool team. This is not a Jürgen Klopp team,” the analyst concluded.
