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Liverpool stands as the only team not to have tasted defeat in the Premier League this season. Surprisingly, they have only conceded eight goals in 20 games. The Reds have beaten all odds rising to the occasion to every challenge bestowed against them this season.
In fact, no one predicted that Liverpool could be seven points clear ahead at this time of the season at the top of the Premier League standings. Actually, if Jurgen Klopp’s men win away at Manchester City in their next league fixture, it will be simple to declare them as ‘Champions elect’.
However, staying at the top of the table is no easy task. In fact, old painful memories still linger around the stadium. For instance, the ‘Gerrard’s slip’ in the 2013- 2014 season, was a demonstration of how a slip-up can cost a team dearly.
Liverpool’s attack and defence are by far the two areas where many arguably refer to as their major strengths. Virgil Van Dijk signing was touted as been the final jigsaw in this Liverpool team. Such signings remain debatable on paper, considering the hefty fees paid by the Reds, however, the new signings are proving their worth.
Oddly, signing a new goalkeeper cost the team a fortune just to get him on board, but at least this signing was necessary, considering the kind of errors previous goalkeepers used to commit costing the team in a couple of times.
Liverpool are playing well, there is no doubt about that. Players such as Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and even Xherdan Shaqiri, are flying high; firing from all cylinders by scoring tons of goals. With that in mind, let us take a look at some of the things Liverpool need to avoid at all costs if they are serious about winning the Premier League this season.
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1. Complacency
We have seen Liverpool destroy teams at will with their devastating attack of a formidable three of Robert Firmino, Salah and Mane. The 5-1 demolition of Arsenal on Saturday was a demonstration of how serious this team is in the hunt for the EPL trophy. Nonetheless, we did see some bit of complacency from the Reds, especially in the first ten minutes- when they conceded the first goal against Arsenal.
It was complacency that allowed Arsenal to open the scoring through an Alex Iwobi's cross that was tapped in by Ainsley Maitland-Niles. Players need to be alert at all times. Allowing complacency to creep in early in the game, may prove costly in the long run for Liverpool.
2. Indiscipline
In the sporting world, having the right mindset and discipline in games is critical. Even when the team is losing, players need to conduct themselves in the best way possible. This not only brings the best out of players, but it also avoids unnecessary bookings by the referee.
Losing a key player such as Van Dijk or Dejan Lovren to suspension is the last thing Klopp would wish for in his team. The Liverpool defence has played a crucial role in their success this season. Therefore, missing key players in crucial games could have serious implications in the quest for the Premier title this season.
3. Not rotating players well enough
Having a proper depth in a football team is a good way of dealing with fatigue. Lack of proper depth puts your players in risk of an injury. This season, Klopp has an amicable bench, unlike last season, where the team played the same set of players all season long.
In the summer transfer window, Klopp was super active; as we saw Liverpool bring in new signings in Naby Keita, Fabinho and Alisson. Consequently, now the team has proper depth capable of rotating players.
Even though the team has a large squad capable of challenging on all fronts, striking the right balance is important as well. What Klopp has to do now is to occasionally rest his senior players so as to prevent them from picking up injuries.
Conclusion
Even though the Reds boasts an array of talented players who have been crucial in the title push, still, falling trap to elements of complacency and indiscipline remains inevitable. Therefore, the manager needs to constantly remind his players the essence of being consistent in the title race.
