Chelsea Cup Defeat Highlights How Far Liverpool Have Come
That winning run wasn't going to last forever, was it?
Any Liverpool defeat generally has to be considered disappointing - although some under Roy Hodgson felt like a blessing in disguise - and Wednesday's League Cup loss to Chelsea did sting a little, especially given the nature of it.
In the grand scheme of things, it is not a result that is going to derail the Reds' season, however, and it was always clear that the League Cup was very …
Trent vs Clyne: Where Does the Difference Lie?
It was, to my mind, a surprise to see Trent Alexander-Arnold start over Nathaniel Clyne at right-back for Liverpool's season-opener against West Ham on Sunday.
Alexander-Arnold had only returned to the fold at the beginning of the Evian training camp, and when he came on in the penultimate friendly against Napoli just eight days before the clash with the Hammers, he was very much off the pace.
A more convincing 65 minutes followed against Torino, but still Clyne, characteristically solid throughout …
Liverpool 5-0 Napoli: Player Ratings as Liverpool humble Napoli
Liverpool laid down a marker with the new season on the immediate horizon as they thrashed Napoli 5-0 at the Aviva Stadium.
James Milner, Georginio Wijnaldum, Mohamed Salah, Daniel Sturridge and Alberto Moreno were all on target for the rampant Reds in their penultimate pre-season friendly.
Jurgen Klopp's side flew out of the blocks and built a lead which was never threatened, dictating the tempo throughout.
Here's a look at how the 21 players fielded by Klopp fared in Dublin.
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The Curious Case of John Arne Riise
Last week, Leanne Prescott, AnfieldIndex's impish commentator, and I had an email exchange about the changing role of the fullback. Her argument - and it’s one I have no great issue with – is that the modern-day full-back spends as much time in the opponents half as his own.
Gone are the days when the average wide defender could sit back and keep an eye on opposing wingers. Steve Finnan, Alvaro Arbeloa and, latterly, Nathaniel Clyne would need to do …
6 Players Who Face A Crucial Summer For Liverpool
While every football fan will be engrossed by the World Cup for the next few weeks, those who weren't chosen for their respective countries to feature in Russia will already be putting in the groundwork ahead of a pivotal summer at Liverpool.
With two new signings already changing the look of Jürgen Klopp's midfield, further summer recruits could put a number of players in a precarious position regarding their role at the club.
Heading into the pre-season campaign without the …
Patience, Patients & Prospects: Reviving Liverpool's English Core
Aside from the last ten minutes of the past two matches, everything is looking rosy in Liverpool-land. Sunday night Mo Salah was awarded the PFA Player of the Year award and, of course, Tuesday night ended with Liverpool holding a 5-2 advantage going into the Champions League semi-final away leg. Things are going so well in fact that we're not satisfied anymore with just a Champions League semi-final victory. It has to be decisive. It has to embarrass the opposition. …
Klopp’s Miracle: Turning Water into Wine, & Making Money at the Same Time
Jurgen Klopp has improved Liverpool all over the pitch, quite literally, since arriving in October 2015.
But unlike some of his managerial rivals, he’s done so without spending money in the transfer market. ‘Net Spend’ is a much scoffed at phrase in modern football, but to transform Liverpool into the gegenpressing, offensive monster we often see now, from the weary, possession-obsessed ‘animal’ it was at the end of Brendan Rodgers’ reign – while making £34m – is nothing short of …
Have we underestimated Liverpool's squad depth?
Over the last month or so we have seen Jurgen Klopp increasingly trust his squad which has seen him rotate a number of his first choice eleven in and out of the side. With the added demands of European football, it was clear Klopp was going to have to utilise his squad players a lot more this season but it should also highlight to us all how the German is building a team which is capable of challenging on all …
Liverpool’s Business With Southampton: A Success?
This weekend see a surprise rivalry take place at Anfield - one that has only really caught fire in the last three years.
Liverpool and Southampton do battle, in what has become commonly known as the “We’re Sick Of You Taking Our Players Derby".
Saints have, perhaps understandably, been irked by the Reds consistently snatching their star men away from them in recent times, and there seems to an added effort on their part whenever the two sides meet. You …
Nathaniel Clyne: Liverpool Are Missing Their Steadying Influence
Nathaniel Clyne is never going to be a player you try to emulate at school, at five-a-side or on Sunday league pitches. You’re never going to have his name on the back of your shirt.
He is a footballer with very little flamboyance - a quiet character who gets on with his job and doesn’t make headlines on or off the field.
Ignore these things, though, because Liverpool are really missing their understated, underrated right-back more and more by the …