The End of an Era: How a Lost Summer Led to Liverpool’s Collapse | Liverpool

ITee was at the end of Jurgen Klopp’s post-match press conference at the Amex Stadium on Saturday, where he said it was the question most people in the room were probably considering asking themselves: Was it his decision to take off Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Joël Matip as part of a four-way substitution? Midway through the second half is a symbol of this Liverpool team’s transcendence?

“It’s our fault, you can ask that question, I understand that, but the changes have nothing to do with that,” said Klopp with a characteristic challenge. his head bowed, his voice low, concern etched on his face; The German, quite clearly, recognized his team Losing to Brighton to be as noteworthy as it was certain.

In fact, he rated the defeat as a possibly The poorest of his coaching career, which was saying something given Borussia Dortmund flirted with relegation during his final season there. But what he said didn’t come as a shock considering how bad Liverpool’s condition is. Clueless and dull and lame, their presentation is especially amazing given that they have a whole week to get ready. In the end it looked as if those in red had spent barely an hour together before traveling to the south coast.

And so the downward spiral of a great team continues and it’s hard to know where to begin to assess what went wrong. There was definitely a hangover from last season’s arduous and ultimately devastating pursuit of the quadruple, which is the director’s thing confessed last week. It’s quite obvious that the poor results affected confidence, and injuries didn’t help. But the malaise runs deeper than that, and nowhere more so than in midfield.

He was not left to scratch all season, failing to provide the strength, dynamism and dynamism required for the team to function properly with a high line and high intensity. Club Ma’aden’s heavy metal team’s percussive drum beat had been distinctly out of tune for months with the primary effect being the ability of opposition teams to create openings against them. Liverpool easily regular. Going into Saturday’s game, they have offered a huge 51 chances to their opponents in 17 league matches this season, with only Leeds and Fulham having worse records.

Brighton became the last team to pass through Liverpool at will, and while, as Klopp emphasized afterwards, the visitors need to take collective responsibility for that, it was the men in the middle whose failures stood out the most and felt most telling. . Thiago Alcantara was largely ineffective in a more advanced role while Henderson and Fabinho were completely bypassed as a double pivot, unable to effectively press or chase down any blue-and-white players once they had been overtaken, in turn putting pressure on a Liverpool defense that had proven untenable. carried on three occasions in the second half. The final result raised the number of league goals conceded by the Merseysiders this season to 25, the highest number of goals after 18 league matches under Klopp’s leadership.

To put it bluntly, Henderson and Fabinho looked like the oldies playing a youngster’s game, who they are – at 32 and 29 respectively – and have endured the relentless effort that comes with being long-term midfielders in Klopp’s side. . They have given everything in pursuit of success and this season seems to have caught them. In this sense their replacements at the weekend an act He feels the symbolism is a sign of the end of an era and the need for another beginning.

It could be argued that Liverpool should have seen this coming and that their failure to sign at least one quality midfielder last summer was an act of negligence. In fairness, the club wanted Aurélien Tchouaméni but was beaten to the French international’s signing by Real Madrid. However, there should have been alternative plans, and given Liverpool’s fading hopes regarding a top-four finish, it is unlikely that a midfielder would be signed in this window either, with the move going for No. 1 Judd. Bellingham will be held next summer at the earliest. An increasing number of fans blame Fenway Sports Group for the current stalemate, reasoning that they are owners who want to sell and will not spend the money needed and available on transfers while they remain on the site.

All is not well at Liverpool and Klopp’s task, starting with Tuesday’s FA Cup replay with Wolverhampton, is to change the mood at the club that has been happy for so long. For that to happen, he needs to make changes on his side and nowhere is it more pressing than in his heart.