Liverpool contrived to squander a 3-1 advantage against Aston Villa, conceding twice in quick succession to draw 3-3. It was certainly an entertaining way for Jürgen Klopp to finish his away-day assignments at the club, but even with nothing at stake, he won’t have been thrilled by the capitulation — and nor was Jamie Carragher.
Likely successor Arne Slot will need to tackle this issue. Liverpool might be a little bit on the beach, but even when the Premier League title was on the line, Klopp struggled to exert any real control over games this season.
In a way, Klopp’s Liverpool has come full circle. There has been plenty of ‘heavy metal football’ over the course of the campaign, the brand he brought to Anfield when he first arrived in 2015, but the side the manager leaves behind is worlds away from the winning machine that cruised to the title in 2020.
That underlines the reality that Slot will be taking over a team near the start of a cycle. He will need to put his own stamp on things, and Carragher has urged him to prioritize the defense.
“I think that’s Jürgen Klopp football,” Carragher said of the chaos that ensued in the Midlands. “You even go back to last week, Liverpool were hanging on after being I think three or four nil up against Tottenham. At 3-1 up [vs Aston Villa] you never felt safe.
“It’s exciting for the neutral and he’s given us so many memories, not just as Liverpool, but if you’re a fan of Premier League football he plays right into the heart of that. But I do wish sometimes Liverpool would just shut up shop, be a little bit tighter, and maybe that’s something that the new manager can take to certainly improve this Liverpool team right now
“But listen, it’s Jürgen Klopp football. The game is end to end, the goals, great advert again.”
Feyenoord has conceded just 26 league goals under Slot this season, the second-best record in the Eredivisie. The Dutch boss also boasted an excellent defense in the title-winning campaign, even though Cody Gakpo did some serious damage to it.
Liverpool.com says: It’s hard to argue with the assessment that the defense should be Slot’s first priority. Liverpool has had its struggles in terms of finishing, too, but the real downfall this season has been the propensity to concede.
When Liverpool was gifted the opener against Aston Villa, it presented a chance to show some game management. But that phrase doesn’t exist in the dictionary of Klopp’s current squad, and Carragher is right to say that Slot will need to restore it.
