FOR the second time in as many games, Liverpool’s defence has let the team down, costing the Reds dearly in their title and cup ambitions.
Liverpool were knocked out of the Champions League last week by Chelsea, after conceding four goals at Stamford Bridge.
And early this morning, they shipped in another four goals against Arsenal in the Premiership in a thrilling 4-4 draw at Anfield. The result leaves the Merseyside club on top of the league table on goal difference, although defending champions Manchester United now have two games in hand, including tomorrow morning’s game against Portsmouth.
The defensive frailties follow their recent resurgence in the league, where they have clocked a series of high-scoring victories since their 4-1 drubbing of United.
What exactly is the problem with Liverpool’s defence in these two games?
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Daniel Agger – In centre defence, he is not strong in his tackles. Man marking is poor. Likes to go forward to try a shot which leaves a gap at the back for opponents to exploit. Even Mark Wright is better than him. If he is the answer to the ageing Sami Hyypia, Liverpool be prepared to ship in more goals.
Jamie Carragher – More guts than brains. His defending is more of a gung-ho attitude than using skills. He as one of Liverpool’s captains signifies the rowdy Scouse people. Players spend time in gyms, Carragher spend time drinking Carlsberg morning, afternoon, night and very foolishly before matches.
Fabio Aurelio – A left-back who thinks he’s left-mid. Always leave the left-back space empty for people like Arshavin or even Kalou to breeze through. Aurelio ain’t no Roberto Carlos. (But he thinks he is). He got no speed, slow at tracking back and he thinks he’s not a defender. Which he is.
Alvaro Arbeloa – Right-back who can’t tackle. And his crosses are 8 times out of 10 useless. Even Spice Boy Jason McAteer was better than him. Arbeloa reminds me of a certain Phil Babb who was nonsense through and through. This Spanish guy couldn’t even tame a bull more or less Florent Malouda.
Qyaerus-Syahrein, 27, Chelsea fan
Comment by Alex Hart — April 22, 2009 @ 1:32 pm
To say that they have a problem with their defence is actaully trying to insult both Arsernal and Chelsea. Both are top quality team with good player which at the same time are in good form together with Liverpool. further more, in recents few game, Liverpool had been attacking more which resulted in a more open play and less organise defense against Counter attack. Hence the problem is not with their defence but because both their opponent are good team. who can counter attack fast and punish you when you made a small error unlike those they face a few match earlier who cannot capitailse on the mistake.
Comment by Joseph — April 22, 2009 @ 1:34 pm
I like Joseph’s entry. Very spot on!!!
I would also like to add that this topic further insults Manchester United too, as they were the only team (out of the big 4) for conceding 4 goals and replying with only 1 goal, compared to 4 for Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal.
Again agree with Joseph that teams are more prone to get hit on the attack when their priority is to secure goals to win games and get the maximum points- something Liverpool tried to do, and had to do yesterday, for the cause of fighting for the EPL title. Anyway, Chelsea and Arsenal are not some sub-standard oppositions, mind you.
Scoring 4 goals in a game is not an easy task, let alone 4 in games against Man Utd, Chelsea, and Arsenal. Do we want to give credit to a team who had scored 12 goals against the Top 3 English teams in 3 matches, or undermining them by unfairly shifting the focus to the number of goals they conceded?
Adrian Lim, 29, Civil Servant
Norwich City Fan
Comment by Adrian Lim — April 22, 2009 @ 2:32 pm
Pool lack the belief they can do it as this is the closest in years they have got to, in winning the league and without gerrard there is no vocal leader in the group less the nutty carragher which a few players hate due to his guts. Aurelio has shown that he is a better attacker then defender and Insua ain’t a good replacement for him at all. Liverpool need to sort out their problems by getting a good left back and instill more emergency into their players, xabi alonso is the best passer of liverpool but when it comes to defending he can be slow and slack and when it comes to set pieces he’s defending is worse then my wife’s! Reina needs a wake up call also as these few games he has been conceding and if he wants to challenge Casillas for the no 1 spain spot he can wait he’s baldy head off. Congrats to Man U to winning the league and for all liverpool fans, it was a fantastic run but its time to be realistic.
Comment by KC — April 22, 2009 @ 2:38 pm
I totally agree with Joseph that Liverpool has been adopting a more offensive approach in recent games which accounts for the high scoring games. The focus on attack has resulted in the backline moving forward. There seems to be a big gap between the defenders and keeper, especially in the Arsenal game.
Furthermore, Arsenal and Chelsea possesses fast and strong forwards which are great threats to Liverpool’s backline. It seems that the defenders have committed more individual errors under the immense pressure. While weaker opponents have failed to capitalize of their mistakes, quality players from the top teams showed no mercy and took full advantage of them.
Liverpool does not really have any fast defenders, therefore when their backline goes too far up; it becomes vulnerable to counter attacks. Unfortunately for them, Arsenal is a team that has no lack of pace.
In any case, I believe it would be better for Agger to be deployed on the wings instead of central defence. While the attacking full back is capable of delivering deadly long shots, he does not track back fast enough and ends up jeopardizing the defence.
Liverpool had to face Chelsea at the solid fortress of Stamford Bridge, and was forced to attack from the start after their 1st leg loss. Arsenal, despite their injury crisis, was on a great run of results. Liverpool simply had two tough games which saw them concede 8 goals.
Comment by Suen Chun Lung — April 22, 2009 @ 3:19 pm
The key word here is “Discipline”. Liverpool’s defense lack the big “D” in the last two matches. The Reds might be able to get away with it against WBA or Hull, but against Chelsea and Arsenal? Absolutely no way!
They could be forgiven last week in the champions league game against Chelsea where they conceded 4 goals because they did score 4 themselves too at Stamford Bridge. Mind you, not many have done that before, if any!
But can they be forgiven for conceding 4 times twice in the space of a week at, this time at Anfield against Arsenal? Well, you might argue that Man United too conceded 4 goals at Old Trafford against Liverpool. And the plus for Liverpool is that unlike Man United who only managed to score once, Liverpool managed to get a draw by scoring 4 times themselves.
But really, what’s wrong with the once brilliant Liverpool defense? Below are the Lucky 7 (Oh, sorry…should be Unlucky 7 instead!) reasons I could think of:
1) No Gerrard. Coincidentally, Stevie G was missing for Liverpool when they conceded 4 times in both the games. The Reds subsequently played like chickens with heads.
2) Reina’s form. Just what is happening to the Top Four’s goalies nowadays? Cech is slumping as fast as Czech Republic are, Fabianski is really making Almunia look world-class, Foster’s impersonation of Barthez at the weekend doesn’t look bad and now Reina. The bald-headed custodian still look alarmingly suspect dealing with crosses and if he is regarded as Spain’s No.2, then I call only say this, “Hi Iker, you will be your nation’s No.1 till you retire!”
3) Liverpool’s fullbacks. This morning, both Arbeloa and Aurelio had a poor game by their standards. The former was careless and well, useless, while the latter gifted Walcott and Arsenal a goal when he thought the speedy Englishman was his teammate!
4) Carragher. Many people were hoping that he step out of retirement to play for England, but I certainly wasn’t one of those. He is always seen struggling against quicker attackers, and really, it isn’t difficult to find players faster than him nowadays. Even my grandpa is faster! I have never been convinced by his “Hunch-back” style of defending and his lack of pace was exposed by the likes of Anelka, Drogba, Arshavin and Walcott in the last 7 days.
5) Agger and Skrtel. Skrtel has been compared to Vidic but judging by his performance against the Blues last week, he still has a long way to go yet. Agger might have scored a cracker against Blackburn, but that was well, Blackburn after all. His mind doesn’t seem to be on Liverpool right now and I guess he might be thinking of where to shop in Milan if AC decide to prise him away.
6) Mascherano. Much has been said about him being the best defensive midfielder in the world. But surely you can’t be touted as the best if your team concede 4 goals in 2 consecutive games when you play in a position in which you are supposed to protect the defense. He was responsible for at least 1 of the goals conceded this morning and you wonder whether the eccentricity of Maradona has got into him.
7) Rafa, who else? Arrogant or not, the Spaniard should know that not everyday’s Sunday and not all his opponents are Blackburn. While Hiddink can inspire Chelsea to victory with his half-time team-talk, Rafa’s mind now seems to be full of images of his new-found love……Alex Ferguson.
Comment by Loh Shengli, 24, Man United — April 22, 2009 @ 3:56 pm
Basically, to sum it all up, our defence will split up so badly by Arsenal & Chelsea was because of indivual errors and the game being way too open.
The 1st three goals conceded by Liverpool against Arsenal were a result of Mascherano, Arbeloa and Aurelio. All Arshavin had to do was to finish it, and im sure you know how clinical he is. The 4th goal happened because Liverpool threw almost everyone upfront except Alonso and Reina. Against a team which has players like Walcott and Arshavin who are quick, they should have left a player or two more to prevent any counter-attacks.
The first goal conceded against Chelsea was an error uncalled for by Reina. It meant that Liverpool had to open the game more to try and pry the Chelsea defence again. As a result, counter-attacks against them were frequent, and to prevent them, free-kicks were also given. Not to mention, the failure to clear the ball also cost them dearly, in which Chelsea capitalised and Lampard finished Liverpool off with two goals.
Comment by Wilson, Liverpool fan — April 22, 2009 @ 4:42 pm
What is unfolding rite now is all the doing or rather the undoing of Rafa Benitez’s safety first approach.
Had Liverpool been more adventurous and finished off their opponents after taking the lead, very sure Liverpool would have been sitting pretty leading the table instead of chasing after Man U. What we are witnessing at this point in time, are the consequences of not winning enough games – too many games ending in draws. A win is the same as three draws but i guess math is not Rafa’s strong subject in school. He likes ‘unbeaten run’.
Now he has somehow realised his stupidity by playing all out offensive football and as such, the defence are vulnerable to fast counterattacks. If only he realised and accept how potent their attacking play is and play to their strength, Liverpool will be a force to reckon with.
Has anyone realised that since Benitez took over Liverpool, they always play cautiously, like Arsenal under George Graham who will bore you to death but at least they were winning most of their games by 1-0, at the start of the season but ending the season with some very attractive and adventurous (force to do so) play.
Those long suffering Liverpool fans should let him know of his foolishness.
Comment by Charles Cheng — April 22, 2009 @ 5:16 pm
I think it is partly due to the quality of the Arsenal and Chelsea stars,not many teams can put 4 past Reina but the statistics shows that both the gunners and the Blues have the best attack behind Liverpool.I think Benitez should opt for Skrtel instead of Agger as the latter is a tough defender to against with and his partnership with Carragher is developing well while Agger is only back from injury and it takes time for him to get back to his best.
Norman Ng,Liverpool fan
Comment by norman — April 22, 2009 @ 6:40 pm
I think it might be the defence never recovered from the seven goals they conceded. Not only that, teams know how to score against them ever since Guus Hiddink exposed their defensive frailties at Anfield.
Comment by Dinesh Bora — April 22, 2009 @ 9:11 pm
Charles Cheng, your post might look like a great insight now. But however, what you fail to mention is that during those period when liverpool draw those games, it’s due to them going forward for a early goals but end up conceded a counter attack scorea instead. their problem was not because they are defensive but that apart from Gerard and torres, they dont have a good goal scorer.
Comment by Joseph — April 23, 2009 @ 8:06 am
The problem ultimately lies in the balance between the attack and defence. Liverpool found themselves behind in the match more times than they normally would in a season. In their desperation to keep their title bid alive, the defence pushed forward to aid the attack, leaving behind huge gaps for Olympic sprinter wannabes a la Theo Walcott to exploit as he demonstrated to great effect with Arsenal’s fourth goal. Apart from that, unnecessary mistakes from key players like Mascherano, Arbeloa and Aurelio led to unnecessary goals. I still believe that had it not been for these avoidable errors, Liverpool could have won the game and kept the pressure on our dear pals at the top, Manchester United.
Comment by Vinay — April 23, 2009 @ 12:20 pm
Somehow I don’t see the magnitude of this discussion as I feel there’s nothing to be worried of. Just because Liverpool conceded 4goals against both, Chelsea and Arsenal doesn’t means that it’s a catastrophe. For me, there’s nothing to worry about.
We take this as a more positive approach instead of worrying when there’s nothing to be worried of. In the 8 games, Liverpool have scored a massive total of 27goals, in which have scored 4 or more in 6 games. This just showed that Liverpool are in hot form in terms of scoring that is.
On the other hand, Liverpool had conceded 12 in these last 8, all against Big4 clubs. 1 against United, 7 against Chelsea and 4 against the Gunners. I feel that it’s not because of a defensive disaster in the Liverpool camp that they conceded this much, but to concede against world-class opponents, we should be more forgiving.
Another key factor I feel that the goals are being conceded, especially recently, 8 goals conceded in the last 2 matches is because of the absence of the Liverpool skipper, Steven Gerrard. In Liverpool’s gameplay, one man in the midfield supports the lone striker. That man, is usually Gerrard. However, with his absence, his replacement, Alonso who is often in the same line with Mascherano, is both brought forward a little more than usual. This leaves a wider gap between the defence and the midfield. Meaning, during counter attacks, Liverpool is much slower to get back into their half. This is vividly seen in the match against Arsenal.
As for the title, it remains United’s to lose, but all the time Liverpool are making gains. And if all the Reds are left with is ‘close but no cigar’, it can still serve as a serious warning ahead of next season. Even the greatest buildings were constructed brick by brick.
Comment by Haley Harrison — April 23, 2009 @ 11:46 pm
Liverpool team is suitable and tailor-made to play italian style slow and defensive football, so when they are ask to attack all the way to win.There are many gaps behind the defence.So they have to change some of their players(Example carragher is slow). If they are to play very defensively no problem they have masherano and alonso who both can sit very deep covering the defence. That why in champion league, they can beat so many big team.
Comment by James — April 24, 2009 @ 12:53 am