Liverpool's Southampton Draw Leaves Jurgen Klopp Looking for Attacking Solutions
A third draw in eight days concluded Jurgen Klopp's opening three games in charge of Liverpool, with Sadio Mane's late equaliser denying the German his first win and giving visitors Southampton a share of the points.
This was, incredibly, Liverpool's fifth consecutive draw and their eighth draw in their last nine games in all competitions. There's consistency, just not of the type that Klopp would like.
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Mane's equaliser arrived nine minutes after Christian Benteke's towering header had given Liverpool the lead. From the moment the Saints' No. 10 bundled the ball in at the Anfield Road end, the home side never looked like retaking the lead and claiming the three points.
Indeed, conceding shortly after taking the lead has become symptomatic of Liverpool's troubles this season—it was the sixth time this season that they have scored first and then conceded within 20 minutes.
"We did not give up physically but we didn’t believe any more that we could turn this game and that is a problem," commented Klopp post-match, per the Press Association (via This Is Anfield). "I wouldn’t say it is a negative mentality. First of all you have to recognise it is like it is, it is not a sickness and you can change everything."
Another thing Klopp must change is the attacking makeup of this Liverpool side—a side who sit on a negative goal difference in late October and have scored the same amount of league goals as bottom-of-the-table Aston Villa.
Nine goals in 10 games is an abysmal return from a squad that acquired Benteke, Roberto Firmino and Danny Ings in the summer, adding to Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho. A squad with those five in it should be scoring goals.
Of course, injuries have beset four of those five, and the fifth—Coutinho—is desperately out of form.
Disjointed Attack
Former manager Brendan Rodgers rightly overhauled Liverpool's attack in the summer bringing in Benteke, Ings and loaned-out Divock Origi to replace Fabio Borini, Rickie Lambert and Mario Balotelli.
Such changes should have yielded a better attacking outlook for the Reds, but it's difficult to see how exactly Rodgers planned to accommodate Benteke, Sturridge, Firmino and Coutinho within the same side, plus Adam Lallana, Ings and Jordon Ibe—who started the season as Rodgers' first-choice (and only) winger.
Injuries have meant both Rodgers and Klopp have never had all of Liverpool's attacking players available at once.
In Klopp's opening three games, he has been left with no other option than to play Origi as a lone striker and while the young Belgian has put in the required effort, Liverpool have lacked an attacking presence.
Klopp removed the 20-year-old for compatriot Benteke at half-time against Southampton and immediately Liverpool looked far more threatening in the final third. With Sturridge's fitness shrouded in doubt, keeping Benteke fit and firing will be vital for Klopp to be able to turn these draws into victories.
Lacking any established wide players, Liverpool have looked short of width in Klopp's opening three games, with full-backs Nathaniel Clyne and Alberto Moreno the only width in the side.
Moreno shone against Southampton, with 45.7 per cent of Liverpool's attacks coming down the Spaniard's side (as opposed to 33.7 per cent down the right), via Telegraph/Opta.
Improvements
What Klopp has improved, though, is the base of the Liverpool side, with the back four looking more assured—although still desperately poor from set pieces.
Lucas Leiva shone in midfield, looking like a player who has belief in the manager and wants to impress, rather than a player expecting to be sold in the next transfer window with the manager preferring to play non-holding midfielders as holding midfielders.
Klopp has clearly been keen to build a solid base for the side before turning his attentions to the attacking failings.
Inefficient
Germans are renowned for their efficiency, and Klopp will be alarmed to see just how inefficient Liverpool's attackers are.
Paul Joyce of the Daily Express wrote:
"In total, they have now had 99 shots in the Premier League this term (excluding blocked shots) and that their paltry goals tally stands at just nine speaks volumes for how the squad Klopp has inherited has lost its way.
Once again there were the usual array of pot-shots from distance that never looked capable of troubling Southampton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg as a lack of creativity continues to anchor the quest for meaningful progress.
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Coutinho's shooting has never been consistent, and while he scored some blockbusters last season—something he continued on the opening day against Stoke City—the Brazilian's shooting has become predictable and more often than not off target.
The 23-year-old clearly benefits from having dynamic centre-forwards ahead of him, but with Origi in the side, Coutinho appears to have stopped looking for the pass and too often looks for the spectacular shot instead.
He was subbed early again against Southampton, and after being dropped again from the latest Brazil squad, he looks like a player who is lacking confidence. He could certainly benefit from not being involved against Bournemouth in the League Cup on Wednesday night.
Attack
In both the last two games, Liverpool have, understandably, looked more threatening once £32 million Benteke and £29 million Firmino have been introduced.
Those two should be fit to start against Bournemouth, and then Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. It would give Klopp some of the solutions to the puzzle.
Firmino, in any of his cameo appearances this season, looks to make things happen—happy to have the ball at his feet and composed when looking to create chances, which is a contrast to Coutinho at present.
After three games in eight days, featuring the same starting XI in each with the exception of Joe Allen in for Lucas against Rubin Kazan, Klopp would be wise to make wholesale changes against Bournemouth on Wednesday, offering starts to Firmino, Ibe and Benteke—which would immediately give Liverpool a new attacking dimension.
The options are there, it's just whether they can remain fit for Klopp to begin to blend them together.
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