Hard Work Starts Now as Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool Honeymoon Period Comes to End
Jurgen Klopp suffered his first defeat as Liverpool manager on Sunday, with the Reds falling 2-1 to bogey team Crystal Palace at Anfield in the Premier League.
Klopp's opening month in charge ended with the deficiencies that plagued former boss Brendan Rodgers' side returning to the fore—namely, failure to deal with set pieces and poor finishing at the other end.
Scott Dann's header with eight minutes remaining proved to be the match-winner for the visitors, who had taken the lead through a player who has tormented Liverpool in recent times, Yannick Bolasie, in the first half.
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Philippe Coutinho's well-taken goal had given Liverpool the equaliser before the interval, but Klopp's side missed several good chances before succumbing to Dann's goal from a corner.
It was a typical performance from the Liverpool of the last 18 months—sloppy defending, questionable goalkeeping, failure to make chances count, then concede late on. Klopp hasn't been able to eradicate all the trademarks of this squad so quickly.
Europa Hangover
While Klopp's comments around the 5,000-mile round trip to face Rubin Kazan in Russia were admirably positive, refusing to let it be an excuse, this was further evidence the Europa League does have an effect.
"There are many games, but the Europa League is not a problem for English teams," said Klopp after the 1-0 win in Kazan, relayed by the Press Association (via This Is Anfield).
The evidence suggests the Europa League, for whatever reason, is a huge problem for English teams.
Liverpool have played four Premier League games following Europa League matches this season, failing to win any, taking just three points despite all of them being played on Merseyside. Those four games were against Norwich City, Everton, Southampton, and Palace. They're certainly winnable fixtures, especially with three of them coming at home.
Two were overseen by Rodgers; two were overseen by Klopp.
Whatever the reason, whether it be fatigue, less preparation time or something else, there is evidence not just this season and not just restricted to Liverpool.
Everton suffered when they were in the Europa League, as have Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Swansea City, Birmingham City and Aston Villa previously—often with the manager being sacked the season after qualifying for the tournament because of poor league form.
Meanwhile, West Ham United are one of this season's surprise packages in the Premier League, benefiting from exiting the Europa League in qualifying.
Liverpool two seasons ago and Manchester United last term benefited from not being in the competition, finishing in the top four.
Liverpool looked leggy against Palace, especially in the latter stages. The likes of Emre Can and Alberto Moreno, both badly at fault for Bolasie's opening goal, have played a lot of football lately.
With no cover for Moreno or Nathaniel Clyne, the two full-backs are being asked to play every game. It's inevitable they will suffer for it.
Can, who has started 15 of the last 16 games in all competitions, was particularly guilty of giving the ball away against Alan Pardew's side, but this was one of the few occasions we've seen him operate in a midfield two, and he's clearly suffering from a huge workload.
Finishing
Christian Benteke started his first game under Klopp against Kazan, having not begun a match in over a month because of injury. He played the full 90 minutes on a heavy pitch in Russia, then three days later, played the full 90 minutes against Palace. After no starts in six weeks, he had 180 minutes football inside three days.
Whether that should be an excuse for his poor finishing, especially the header in the second half, and some poor movement is for Klopp to decide.
The Reds boss has had to contend with a packed fixture list and a growing injury list in his opening month, having done so well to juggle and survive the two, the honeymoon period came to an end against a Palace team that knew they could cause another upset.
Poor finishing has plagued Liverpool since the departure of Luis Suarez 16 months ago, and the Reds' shot-conversion rate is appalling. Of course, having Daniel Sturridge available would help Klopp there.
"LFC currently have the worst chance conversion rate in the Premier League 10.2% EPL Ave 14.6% last season was 13.1% 13/14 was at 21.4%
— StatsAndSwearwords (@SimonBrundish) November 8, 2015"
Break
A defeat before the international break is always difficult to swallow, but it will give Klopp plenty to analyse and work on over the fortnight.
Captain Jordan Henderson should be fit to return after the break, per Paul Joyce of the Daily Express, which gives Klopp an interesting option over who gets the nod in centre midfield.
Meanwhile, Klopp will be hoping for positive news on the injury Mamadou Sakho suffered on Sunday. The Frenchman has been a key figure under Klopp, and the manger acknowledged this post-match, saying: "I would prefer to lose 4-1 and keep him in the team, but it was the situation and now we have to see," per the Press Association (h/t This Is Anfield).
Liverpool's first game after the break is away to Manchester City—a game that brings to an end that run of seven opening away games against last season's top five plus Everton and Stoke City. The Reds' next game against one of last season's top six will be at home to Arsenal in mid-January.
With the final two Europa League group games and a League Cup quarter-final on the horizon, Klopp will hope to have the likes of Sturridge, Henderson and Sakho available, ready to push on into the festive fixtures.
He'll also be hoping for no more injuries for players away with their respective countries over the forthcoming break.
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