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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Speaking on Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher has raised concerns over some of Liverpool’s defending in their 4-1 win over Norwich in the Premier League.
What did he say?
The Reds kick-started their league campaign with a thumping win over the division’s new boys, but the side’s defensive performance certainly raised some eyebrows.
Having seen Liverpool concede just 22 goals over the course of the Premier League season last year, Carragher insisted Jurgen Klopp’s side need to sort out some of their defensive issues immediately.
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He said: “It’s not just today against Norwich, and you can say maybe they have taken it easy, but you look at the Community Shield against Manchester City and also pre-season didn’t go as well as you would have liked defensively.
“I am sure when Jurgen Klopp goes through the game tomorrow, he will think they need to be tighter. Van Dijk was not happy at times with different players dropping off and pushing on. It wasn’t the solid backline that we saw so much last season. It will come back, but from Liverpool’s point of view, you want it to come back quickly because you don’t want to be looking like a team who starts to concede goals as that puts doubt throughout the side.”
Doubts could be crucial
Arguably the strongest side defensively last season in English football, Liverpool’s two clashes against City and Norwich have seen signs of rare instability. The Reds were carved open with relative ease against both sides, and were slightly fortunate to not have conceded more.
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As Carragher suggests, all it takes is a little bit of doubt to creep in before it fully consumes you. Their displays over the coming weeks will go a long way to putting people’s minds at ease, but if defensive lapses and mistakes continue, then the Reds will be in trouble.
The opening games of the season are always likely to be seen as blowing off the cobwebs, but Klopp must ensure their first two games are not a sign of things to come.
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