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Liverpool are gradually edging towards becoming one of the worst teams ever to be tasked with defending the Premier League. The Reds waited for thirty years to end their drought for a league title, but they are currently far away from being title challengers.
On Sunday, Jurgen Klopp watched on as his side received a heavy beating at the hands of Manchester City. For a side that hadn't won at Anfield since 2003, Manchester City’s 4-1 thumping was least expected.
And yet the scoreline wasn’t so surprising either. Liverpool have been downright poor this season, winning just two of their last nine Premier League matches.
The Reds were completely out-fought, out-thought and outplayed by Pep Guardiola’s side, who have now moved ten points clear of Liverpool in the league table.
Alisson nightmare puts Liverpool’s title defence in tatters
Plenty of blame has gone to Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker following his horror show against Manchester City. The Brazilian was culpable for two of Manchester City’s goals when the game was deadlocked at 1-1.
Two failed clearances from Alisson allowed Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling to score; the Brazilian was also beaten at his near post by Phil Foden for Manchester City’s fourth goal.
While Alisson has taken a lot of flak for his poor outing on Sunday, his performance only goes to mirror Liverpool’s own shambolic title defence. The Reds currently do not boast the efficiency and attitude of champions.
And like their goalkeeper, the whole team seems to have lost the spark that saw them rise to conquer the Premier League title last season. Liverpool’s latest loss to Manchester City has left their title defence in tatters, and it’ll take a miracle for them to recover from here.
Jurgen Klopp is running out of excuses
Until now, Liverpool’s excuse has been that a majority of their players have been missing because of injury. While that is true, the level of their slump has been unacceptable though.
Liverpool are not the only club missing players at the moment, and it’s petty to suggest a club of their size cannot win games without a few of their key players.
Former Manchester United star Roy Keane was right when he slammed Klopp for his constant excuses, insisting Liverpool have been outright poor in their title defence this season. We spoke before the game – they are making a lot of excuses. To me they’ve been bad champions," said Keane.
"You can lose a game of football but…I can’t figure this group out. Looking at them, even during the week Brighton were comfortable, you can get beaten in a game – there’s a way to be beaten. But I don’t see that. It’s excuses after excuses. Klopp said earlier City had a break because of the virus, missed two days training. It just goes on and on and on,” Keane fumed on Sky Sports, as quoted by TalkSport.
While Keane may have sounded a bit harsh, he was spot on with his comments. Klopp is running out of excuses, and the earlier he gets Liverpool playing well again, the better it will be for everyone associated with the club.
If not, the German could soon get the sack, especially with Liverpool battling for a top-four place instead of challenging for the Premier League title.
