Liverpool 0 Man United 1: Liverpool throw away great opportunity

This was a chance missed.  Man United barely had a shot on goal in the match yet sneaked away with a win from a Wayne Rooney goal.

To say we were unlucky would be over egging the pudding because as much as we dominated with quality possession, clear cut chances were few and far between.

Yes, Can produced a few rasping drives which de Gea expertly saved, but Liverpool’s clearest opportunity came from Henderson pulling his shot wide after a wonderful move involving the said player, Lucas, Henderson and Firmino and Lallana headed straight at the oncoming de Gea following a glorious curling pass from Lucas with Firmino shooting wide from the resultant loose ball.

Another loss and it definitely doesn’t feel right.  Barely a threat inside the area, yet we had a number nine entering the fray with less than ten minutes to go and another attacker in Teixiera who possesses the ability to unlock stubborn defences not warranting an opportunity.

If Benteke is not part of Klopp’s forward thinking then there is a question of whether to sell him in this window?  International class centre forward on the bench and a goal shy team, the equation doesn’t add up.  Firmino shows flashes of brilliance and although Klopp sees him as a striker the player seems more a scorer of great goals than a poacher who steals them.

The seven point gap to Spurs isn’t only cavernous in terms of points, but in terms of quality.  Spurs have a consistent goal scorer and a midfielder in Dele Alli who could be Steven Gerrard’s heir apparent.

We have a lot of work to do.

Pace is something which we lack in abundance, an issue which we need to get over sooner rather than later as we struggle to get behind teams on the flanks.

Can is growing in stature week by week and needs to play besides Henderson on a game by game by basis to develop their understanding  which may relegate Lucas to the bench.

An interesting combination would be using the pace and power on one wing of Ojo with the guile and wily ability of Kent on the other.  We need something different and the opportunities are falling by the way side.  Granted this isn’t the best or must illustrious team in the Premier League, but its fallibility is its disjointedness.  Milner, Firmino and Lallana players of ability, but all lack that turn of pace that would make them great players especially playing in unison.

There is also the fact that against Arsenal we played a high pressing game which Klopp so clearly favours and against Man United we played a more of a waiting game, struggling to break through defensive lines.

With less than two weeks to go until the close of the transfer window and injuries abound does Jurgen Klopp take the plunge or use the squad to add fresh impetus into a flagging core?

Man of the match:  Mamdou Sakho – was a prodigious and calming influence in the centre of the defence with the equally assured Kolo Toure.  That they ended up on the losing side was down to our inability to unlock the door.  His defensive headers were immense and controlled well with is chest under pressure.  His passing out of defence which is often underrated was on the money.

Critical eye: Liverpool, not for the first lacked a cutting edge in the final third, but by having an international striker and a winger on the bench there is very little argument.  For all the possession, we had one clear cut chance which Henderson dragged wide.

Klopp needs to inject pace into his side as after a time it becomes one dimensional if they fail to get an early breakthrough.  The younger legs of Caulker alongside Sakho provides an option of not playing a holding midfielder with the more explosive midfield pairing of Henderson and Can in the middle.

Both full-backs fail time and time again to deliver quality crosses or final balls.

Teams:

Liverpool: 22 Mignolet, 2 Clyne, 4 K Touré (Benteke – 81 mins), 17 Sakho, 18 Moreno, 14 Henderson, 21 Lucas, 23 Can, 07 Milner (Caulker – 90 mins), 11 Firmino, 20 Lallana (Ibe – 76 mins)

Subs: 9 Benteke, 19 Caulker, 24 Allen, 33 Ibe, 44 Smith, 52 Ward, 53 J. Teixeira

Man United: 1 de Gea, 18 Young (Borthwick-Jackson – 42 mins), 12 Smalling, 17 Blind, 36 Darmian, 28 Schneiderlin, 27 Fellaini, 35 Lingard (Mata – 66 mins), 21 Herrera (Depay – 72 mins), 9 Martial, 10 Rooney

Subs: 7 Depay, 8 Mata, 20 Romero, 30 Varela, 33 McNair, 43 Borthwick-Jackson, 44 Pereira

Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Attendance: 43,865