(Football news) Liverpool were chasing an unprecedented quadruple last season with Jurgen Klopp’s side looking like a well oiled machine capable of challenging for the biggest honours. Fast forward to now and the Reds look like a shadow of their former selves and are potentially out of the title race after a number of inconsistent performances. Unfortunately for Klopp, there is no single problem in this Liverpool side, there are multiple glaring issues that simply aren’t a quick fix. To make matters worse, the Reds will welcome Manchester City at Anfield this Sunday and a defeat in this fixture could severely dampen their hopes of even making it to the Champions League next season. 

Last season, Liverpool played a staggering 63 fixtures over a period of nine months and competed in four tournaments until the final week of the season. The likes of Jordan Henderson, Diogo Jota, Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane played over 50 games last season while Fabinho, Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold played over 45. It won’t be unfair to say that fatigue has taken a toll on Liverpool’s key players, especially considering that the Premier League began earlier this season and with the World Cup next month, it will only get worse. 

Liverpool had one of the youngest starting lineups in the Premier League in the 2017/18 season and had the fifth youngest when they won the Champions League in 2018/19. That figure rose to 12th when they won the Premier League in the 2019/20 season but now, Klopp’s winning formula is showing its age and the Reds have the third oldest starting lineup (the other two being West Ham and Fulham). A recurring trend everytime Liverpool have dropped points this season is the fact that they have had a sluggish start to the match, resulting in the team conceding first. For a team that has been known for its high energy and intensity, a lethargic start has really cost Liverpool not only a Premier League title challenge but potentially a Champions League spot.

To make matters worse, Mohamed Salah has struggled to find the net this campaign and was withdrawn with 20 minutes on the clock against Arsenal after failing to make any impact whatsoever. It’s quite telling that last season’s top scorer has only managed to score twice so far and is visibly lacking in confidence. At the age of 30, Salah who can still be considered to be in the prime of his career has played non stop for club and country in the last year and irrespective of his fitness, fatigue is expected to take its toll, especially considering that only Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson has played more minutes in the Premier League than the Egyptian since 2019/20. 

However, Salah is not solely to be blamed for Liverpool’s woes. Trent Alexander-Arnold has also been a victim of the Premier League’s attackers and the 24 year old has been exposed more often than not this season with the Reds conceding more often from his channel than any other. It’s not just him though as Liverpool on the whole have struggled defensively compared to last season. The Reds have played in a system that utilises their fullback’s attacking output, but with Trent’s poor form combined with Robertson’s injuries, a significant aspect of Liverpool’s firepower has been nullified. Moreover, with the number of injury problems, Klopp has not been able to rotate his squad as he would have liked, worsening the fatigue that has already been prevalent in his squad. It remains to be seen if Liverpool manage to turn their season around but the signs do not look good and every indication points towards things becoming even worse if major reinforcements are not brought in during the January transfer window.

Also read: Nottingham Forest draw against Aston Villa in the Premier League