MY ACCOUNT
Liverpool are “not a Jurgen Klopp team” at the moment, according to Jamie Carragher, who was scathing of the Reds’ lacklustre performance in Monday’s defeat at Brentford.
A deserved 3-1 victory for Thomas Frank’s Bees further compounded the woes of the Merseyside outfit, who have struggled to recapture the highs of last season this term.
Since restarting their campaign after the World Cup concluded last month, Liverpool have been knocked out of the EFL Cup and staggered to muted Premier League wins against Aston Villa and Leicester City.
Defeat to an energetic Brentford side leaves them four points adrift of the Premier League’s top four, and Carragher feels they no longer possess the characteristics associated with their decorated manager.
“That has been a theme of Liverpool all season,” the former Reds defender told Sky Sports. “As soon as the intensity of a game rises, they cannot cope.
“They need to play a slower type of game because as soon as it goes fast, they are not at the races, they cannot keep up with it.
“When I watch Liverpool now, and certainly in midfield, it feels like Jurgen Klopp’s team is morphing into something else.
“For me, from minute one of Klopp’s era, teams were sprinting all over the pitch. When I don’t see Liverpool sprinting and closing down now, it is not a Jurgen Klopp team and I want to know why.”
Liverpool have already sought to bolster their ranks with the signing of Cody Gakpo, but Carragher claims offensive power is not their foremost issue, calling for the arrival of a midfielder.
“I don’t know what has happened to Liverpool in terms of midfield,” he added. “[They] have bought one midfield player in four-and-a-half years in Thiago [Alcantara]. It is coming back to haunt them now.
“They have signed Cody Gakpo [but] if Liverpool think they can make the top four without signing a midfield player in this window, they have got no chance.”
