How Do You Solve a Problem Like Liverpool? Fan Verdicts on the Reds' Big Issues

Unbeaten against their top-six rivals, Liverpool have done the double over Arsenal, shut out Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur at home and are one of only three teams to get the better of leaders Chelsea in the Premier League this season.

Yet despite excelling against heavyweight foes, they've struggled to cope with so-called inferior opposition. The lightweights, if you like.

Here's a list of the sides Liverpool have lost to in Premier League action this season (in alphabetical order): Burnley, Bournemouth, Hull City, Leicester City and Swansea City.

Jurgen Klopp's band can produce heavy-metal football up against the best but too often hit a bum note in games they're expected to win. Like wearing bootcut jeans, the trend needs to come to an end quickly.

After hosting Burnley on Sunday, the Reds travel to Manchester City on March 19 before the Merseyside derby with Everton at Anfield on April 1. From then on, their run-in looks soft. Sure, there are tricky trips to West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City thrown in there, but Liverpool will be favoured on the road.

Still, supporters will wonder when the next banana skin is going to pop up. It is Klopp's job to make sure there are no more slip-ups down the final stretch of a see-saw campaign.

With the aid of some feedback from Bleacher Report UK's followers on Twitter, here are possible solutions to the burning question: Just how do you solve a problem like Liverpool?

History Repeating

Newsflash: This is a not a new issue. Losing to lesser sides has been a bad habit during the Premier League years. Chris Bascombe recently pointed out as much in the Telegraph:

"

It has been this way far longer than 18 months. Roy Evans, Gerard Houllier, Rafael Benítez and Kenny Dalglish (during his second spell) had the same problem, notable victories overshadowed by seemingly illogical setbacks.

Too many significant wins have meant the club have walked on with as much hype as hope in their hearts.

"

Ashley Ward and Tommy Mooney are names Liverpool fans of a certain age will remember with anything but fondness, as they scored winning goals at Anfield for newly promoted clubs Barnsley (in November 1997) and Watford (in August 1999) respectively.

Rafa Benitez's squad that pushed Manchester United all the way in the title race slipped up away at Middlesbrough in the 2008/09 season, while Brendan Rodgers' Reds were left to rue losses at home to Southampton and away to Hull City as they finished two points behind champions Manchester City in 2013/14.

It is not uncommon for underdogs to bite back against the big boys, yet Liverpool seem to suffer unexpected setbacks season after season.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

What makes this crop's failings so frustrating, however, is how well they've performed against those around them in the standings. They go from the sublime to the ridiculous in under a week.

Their Jekyll-and-Hyde nature was shown up inside the opening two games of the campaign. Just six days after dazzling at the Emirates Stadium in a 4-3 win over Arsenal on opening weekend, they laid a giant egg when losing 2-0 to Burnley.

More recently, all-energy performances at home to Chelsea and Spurs were followed up by no-shows at Hull City and Leicester City. Just when a corner appeared to be turned following a difficult start to the calendar year, Liverpool wandered into a dead end.

Forget tactical tweaks—Klopp's battling to change a deep-rooted mindset that is holding the club back.

The German said in his press conference after the Leicester loss on February 27: "We all play for our future, myself included. We get judged every day, especially on match days."

Liverpool's players should consider those words a shot across the bow. Shape up or you're in danger of being shipped out in the summer.

Staying the Course

Like an Olympic sprinter, Liverpool always aim to be quick out of the blocks. Per SoccerStats.com, they've scored a league-high 11 goals in the opening 20 minutes of their games this season.

They charged ahead in home triumphs over Manchester City (scoring inside eight minutes), Tottenham (16 and 18 minutes) and Arsenal (nine minutes), plus they also scored in the 17th minute of their 2-1 win at Chelsea back in September.

If the fast start doesn't result in a goal, however, there's no need to panic. Frustration can lead to forgetfulness in terms of the plan of attack, but the players should simply hit the reset switch and go again.

"We know how they defend," Klopp said ahead of facing Burnley at home, per Jack Lusby of This Is Anfield. "It's not new. The pitch is too big to close all spaces. You have to play quick in the right places, speed it up, change it for them."

The message is clear (put it around a picture of Klopp's face and print T-shirts): Keep calm and carry on.

The players have to accept some responsibility too. Klopp is the messenger, but he needs his senior men to spread the word during games. Whisper it quietly, but this squad could do with a few more on-field leaders.

Liverpool are excellent when allowed to play at a high tempo. The problems start when games become less of a track meet and more like a cross-country slog.

They've scored the first goal in 17 of their 28 league games to date, according to SoccerStats.com. Only once have they lost after going ahead, which was away at Bournemouth, when they managed to let slip a 3-1 lead to go down 4-3.

Get ahead, and things become easier. Forget all the talk about needing Plan B—they just need to stick to the original script and see how it plays out.

There demonstrated in the 2-1 triumph over Burnley on Sunday how it can be done. Sluggish and sloppy early on, they rallied from a goal down to pick up three points. The game won't live too long in the memory, but such victories are crucial in the long haul. Winning ugly is a skill Liverpool has to master, and quickly.

Parking Problems

The majority of teams in the top flight just aren't willing to stand toe-to-toe with Liverpool, particularly when they travel to Anfield. Why should they? The aim is to pick up points, not earn plaudits.

Opposing defences drop deeper, denying the Reds space to use on the counter. It's not a concern that they don't see the ball for long periods so long as each player diligently holds his position.

Analyst Danny Higginbotham told Sky Sports: "What [Liverpool's opponents] say is, 'OK, Liverpool, you can go backward, you can go sideways, but you're not going to get in behind us.' So they let Liverpool have possession."

As seen in the chart below, getting hold of the ball wasn't the issue in their league losses:

Liverpool's PL defeats in 2016/17

Opponent	Possession (per cent)	Total Touches
Burnley (0-2)	80.4	1,032
Bournemouth (3-4)	60.2	766
Swansea City (2-3)	73.6	966
Hull City (0-2)	72.2	851
Leicester City (1-3)	69.3	872

Possession is only useful if you know what your doing with the ball, though. Liverpool barely gave Burnley a kick at Turf Moor, for instance, as they ended up playing the role of George Foreman in football's version of Muhammad Ali's famous rope-a-dope tactic.

Talking to Ben Welch of FourFourTwo, coach Matt Wells offered a method to get around the bus teams often park in front of their goal:

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You want your playmakers to try [to] suck the opposition's defensive midfielders out to press the ball.

If you're too safe on the ball the opposition will just sit off you and shift across. What you want them to do is lose their discipline and sprint out because then we're good enough to find bigger gaps because they've got one less player behind the ball.

"

In Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana, Liverpool possess two playmakers who can do what Wells suggests. Positioning the former on the left wing perhaps doesn't help him affect games enough. The Brazilian was withdrawn after an hour against Burnley—his lack of spark since returning from injury is a lingering concern.

Whatever their final league position, Klopp will surely reassess his midfield options in the summer.

Captain Jordan Henderson shouldn't worry too much. Emre Can however, delights and disappoints in equal measure (plus his contract runs out in 2018). Georginio Wijnaldum, meanwhile, has marked his debut season for the club with some key contributions in big games but gone missing in too many others.

There won't be new faces arriving before the end of the season, though.

Unable to make additions, Klopp could change the team's shape. Per Transfermarkt, he's occasionally veered away from his favoured 4-3-3 system, including using a 4-2-3-1 formation in the 4-2 away victory over Crystal Palace.

Unlike Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, however, a permanent switch to three at the back seems unlikely, mainly because of the personnel available. Liverpool don't own an N'Golo Kante to dominate in midfield, nor a reliable left-footed raider to operate on the opposite flank to Nathaniel Clyne.

No Case for the Defence

Despite so far looking at methods to make Liverpool better when they have the ball, it's worth remembering they are still the leading scorers in the Premier League.

The Reds have also conceded 35 league goals in 28 games, more than any other member of the top six. Even Middlesbrough (30), who face the prospect of a quick return to the Championship, have a better defensive record than the Reds.

The issues start with the last line of defence. High-profile errors—including a costly spillage at Bournemouth in December—led to Loris Karius, who only arrived from Germany last summer, losing his place in goal.

However, Simon Mignolet isn't immune to mistakes, either.

Any time he comes for a cross, Liverpool supporters feel like the doting father watching his child ride a bike without stabilisers on for the first time. You hope everything will work out OK and that they'll succeed, all while braced for an accident to occur.

It was the Belgian's failure to deal with a bouncing ball inside his penalty area that led to Hull's opening goal in the 2-0 defeat at the start of February, although it didn't cost him his spot in the XI.

Still, the porous back line isn't just the fault of two goalkeepers who've completed a Chuckles Brothers "to me, to you" routine with the role.

When things aren't going right at the front end of the pitch, defensive frailties are highlighted. Conceding bad goals becomes an issue when it costs points.

Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip—the first-choice pairing at centre-back—have unfortunately missed matches through injury and international issues, although their absences will not be accepted as an excuse for conceding on so many occasions.

Whether it is a matter of changing personnel or toning down his attacking philosophy, Klopp must tighten things up at the back, both for the final few months of this season and beyond. Winning teams are rarely built on shaky foundations.

Sometimes brilliant, other times infuriating, Liverpool are a curate's egg of a football team. While still a work in progress, finishing outside the top four would be a huge disappointment.