Liverpool beat Darmstadt 3-1 in their final pre-season friendly, Theo Squires has some analysements at Deepdale.
Liverpool had a slew of defensive issues last season, and they became far too easy to play against. From allowing early goals to sides exploiting space behind them, their defending was always frenzied and desperate.
The same could be stated for a portion of the first half against SV Darmstadt. Sure, they were 2-0 up when the Bundesliga side cut the lead in half, but it was still a goal given far too easily when Mathias Honsak found himself one-on-one.
The Austrian raced onto an easy ball over the top before shooting past Alisson in the 10th minute.
Such long balls caused Liverpool difficulties before the break, and the Brazilian had to stand tall in the second half to deny a Darmstadt forward from point-blank range. Alisson, who saved the Reds so many points last season, will have another busy season on this evidence.
A better team than the Germans, who had not scored in pre-season until facing Liverpool, would have punished Klopp’s men even more. Chelsea, despite their own difficulties last season, are just that.
While this 3-2-2-3 configuration aided the Reds’ season last year by bringing out the best in Alexander-Arnold in midfield, it merely exposes Liverpool to long balls that skip midfield totally. Unveiling a fresh new midfield, which is still in the works as they gradually adjust to this new setup, only adds to the issues.
A new holding midfielder and center-back could help, but there is no certainty.
For the time being, Klopp will remain with this new configuration during pre-season. But you have to wonder how long it will take for the Reds to improve defensively, or if the manager will be compelled to make another change.
As the old adage goes, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. The same defensive concerns persist on the eve of the new season, with this new configuration doing nothing to close such gaps as players adjust to their new positional roles.
With sporting director Jorge Schmadtke watching from the directors’ box at Deepdale, and it being so clear what Liverpool still needs to do in the transfer market following their latest pre-season performance, one hopes he can do his thing to help Klopp address such weaknesses as soon as possible.
