Two players could help reverse a troubling Liverpool trend for Jurgen Klopp.
Our weekly Liverpool jury columnists reflect on the victory over LASK Linz while preparing for the match against West Ham United on Sunday.
Liverpool won 3-1 away at LASK Linz’s stadium on Thursday night to begin their Europa League campaign.
Despite going behind early on, Jurgen Klopp’s team came back with goals from Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah, and Luis Diaz to secure the Reds’ trip back home with three points in Group E.
Now that the focus is back on the Premier League, West Ham United will go to Merseyside on Sunday afternoon in an effort to pull off an unexpected result.
Four fans have given their opinions as part of a weekly ECHO fan column on what might be in store for this match while taking into mind Thursday’s European victory.
We’ve already traveled a long and enjoyable path to the Europa League final in Dublin in 2019! The Reds’ team we fielded in Thursday night’s match against Austrian team LASK was essentially everything I had anticipated seeing from them, and it provided an intriguing opportunity to see more of players like Endo, Doak, and Gravenberch.
These are all important players who, I’m confident, will serve as the foundation for our cup events this year.
Isn’t it helpful to have the heavy guns on hand to save you when you find yourself in a sticky situation? Salah’s stunning cameo is something I can’t leave out because he almost always makes an impact off the bench.
I anticipate seeing a strong performance against West Ham on Sunday even though some other important players will be rested.
After a lethargic first half, Liverpool produced an energised display after the break against Wolves to escape Molineux with three points.
The energised performance in the second half was in no small part due to the introduction of Harvey Elliott, who has continued to impress this season, and our South American contingent of Nunez and Diaz, who both provided speed and aggression offensively.
Our season faltered last year because of slow starts and early opposition goals.
Against LASK, we saw a faint photocopy of the game against Wolves: a sluggish and slow start, followed by a resurgent second-half performance.
We can of course take some solace from the fact that this team has demonstrated resilience this season, but resilience alone does not convert teams into champions.
If we look back to our recent title success, it was built on consistency and stability. The return of Van Dijk and Konate should curb Liverpool’s worrying trend of conceding early in games.
If Liverpool are going to challenge for major honours this year, they will have to be quicker out of the blocks.
Results can often obscure performances. Some fans could read that as negative, but I think it’s worth discussing.
It hearkens to a phrase my military veteran friends like to throw around: measures of performance aren’t measures of success.
It’s useful when sorting out what works and doesn’t.
Right now, however, it may be too early to tell if the results we’ve seen to date are more performance than success.
Is this form temporary? Will the marathon that is every season take its toll and this reinvigorated version of the mentality monsters not have enough over the full scope of matches?
Going behind in games hasn’t hurt and, in fact, it’s been the cudgel the team needed to continue fighting and get all three points. We can’t say the same for last season.
Are there frailties that the Reds must overcome, or are we just unlucky at the start of matches? It could be both or neither.
Six matches in 17 days will be the first real measure of what this edition of Liverpool can do and will go far in answering some of our questions.
That Liverpool returned to action with two more comeback victories feels, largely, an encouraging sign.
The team looks one that stays calm, patient, and backs itself to use its time. Even so, we’ll want to make utilising that trait a happy habit, rather than a regular requirement.
After Saturday’s enthralling three points at Molineux, there was plenty to take away from Thursday’s success in Linz.
Stefan Bajcetic operating as an inverted right-back represented a test of a potentially valuable tactical option, while both Ryan Gravenberch and Ben Doak enjoyed encouraging full debuts, in the week the latter signed a new contract.
Leicester’s Carabao Cup trip to Anfield on Wednesday will likely be another valuable source of minutes for many.
This Sunday’s visit of West Ham – who came from behind to earn a 3-1 Europa League win of their own – is now the primary focus.
David Moyes’ side have averaged around 35% possession in the Premier League so far this term but, with 10 points from 15, have shown themselves to be more than
happy wait for their moments to pounce. A start akin to against Aston Villa would be welcome, yet patience will likely again be high on the agenda
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