Enforced Changes Leave Liverpool Looking Flat and Missing Key Players

Liverpool suffered their second defeat of the season on Saturday, losing 1-0 to Aston Villa at Anfield.

Gabriel Agbonlahor's scrappy goal from a corner on nine minutes proved the only goal of the game, with Liverpool lacking creative spark or attacking energy.

The dynamic and fluid Liverpool of last season were a distant memory with Brendan Rodgers' side missing several players through injury, meaning six of the 10 outfield players were new signings from this summer. Lazar Markovic and Adam Lallana were making their first competitive starts for the club.

Such wholesale changes meant a disjointed and far-from-fluid performance.

Tottenham Comparison

This summer has seen many supporters and media draw the parallel between Liverpool's sale of Luis Suarez—and subsequent signing of nine players—with Tottenham's sale of Gareth Bale a year earlier.

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In this defeat, Liverpool looked like a team suffering similarly. However, they were without not only Suarez, but also the injured Daniel Sturridge—thanks, Roy Hodgson—and Raheem Sterling, who started on the bench. That trio were the attacking impetus and force behind Liverpool's unexpected title pursuit last season.

Nonetheless, the side that Rodgers named should be capable of beating an Aston Villa side sporting Aly Cissokho, Philippe Senderos and Alan Hutton in defence. But that's not how football works.

Fair play to Villa. They were organised and defended well, but they also rode their luck with decisions—both Hutton and Senderos lucky not to have seen red. Senderos should see retrospective action taken by the FA for his off-the-ball kick on Mario Balotelli in the first half. That will mean little to Liverpool here, though.

Tactics

What was odd here was that Rodgers opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation, deploying Jordan Henderson in a deeper role than usual. It's a formation that Liverpool have lacked fluidity in whenever they've lined up this way in recent times.

It was almost as though Hodgson was actually in charge, with Rodgers' side showing the same problems that England did at the World Cup, as Adam Griffies of This Is Anfield examined.

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The boss was clearly trying to get Philippe Coutinho involved in his preferred No. 10 role and Markovic and Lallana in their natural roles on either side of attack, but instead, Balotelli lacked support oftentimes.

In comparison to the shape when deploying a midfield diamond and two forwards, as at Tottenham last time out, Liverpool's attack barely mustered any problems for the Villa defence.

Lovren

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Dejan Lovren was once more at fault for a goal, caught the wrong side, again, on the corner from which Agbonlahor poked home in front of the Kop. The Croatian has had a very questionable start to his career at Anfield since his £20 million arrival from Southampton.

Will Rodgers move Lovren back to the left of the two centre-backs when Martin Skrtel returns from injury? That would be harsh on Mamadou Sakho, who has looked far more assured than Lovren in these recent games.

Next

With five matches in 14 days—in three different competitions—Rodgers' side need to bounce back fast. The boss will be hoping that players such as Skrtel, Joe Allen, Sturridge, Glen Johnson and Jon Flanagan are fit and able to return from injury.

That, and the new players finding their feet at the club, should see a more fluid and inspiring Liverpool emerge again.