FSG have sent a £100m signal they can’t ignore as four new problems emerge at Liverpool

Ian Doyle’s analysis of Liverpool after the 4-1 loss to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium

Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Manchester City’s Jack Grealish during the Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium on April 1, 2023 (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)

Grealish will send a transfer notice

If Liverpool ever wanted to know the upside of signing a £100m England international midfielder, here it has been made painfully clear.

With a goal and an assist, Jack Grealish proved to be a major thorn in the Reds squad for the first time in his career, demonstrating the value of his outrageously expensive acquisition after a slow start to his spell at Manchester City. .

City can, of course, afford some strange failures in the transfer market, such are their riches. But now, with Grealish, they get what they pay for.

It will certainly be food for thought for Jurgen Klopp, and Fenway Sports Group in particular, as they press ahead with plans for a much-needed – and arguably costly – midfield overhaul this summer. Far worse sides than City have revealed Liverpool’s engine room dilemmas this season and the lack of available options meant Fabinho and Jordan Henderson both started here at the base of a 4-2-3-1 revamped.

Although neither played particularly badly, it was again evident that they had gone beyond the best when they helped knock City from their place three years ago. They can still play a role in future seasons, but they need help.

Are there now any £100m England international midfielders who could possibly find a job?

Jota takes a step forward

So continues Diogo Jota’s painfully long wait for a Liverpool goal. But after a season of such frustration, there have finally been signs of encouragement.

The Portuguese hasn’t found the goal since the Reds were last at the Etihad in the Premier League when they drew 2-2 almost 12 months ago.

He wasn’t about to change that face here. However, Jota produced his most impressive performance since the second leg in October, which ended with him leaving on a stretcher with a calf injury that ruled him out of the World Cup.

The striker deployed on the left pressed and rushed to good effect and it was his breakthrough through the middle and the flat put that sparked the opener for Mohamed Salah. The goal for Jota will surely come if he maintains this level.

Meanwhile, Salah is now the first Liverpool player to score in four different games against City in a single season. His shooting also made him the Reds’ best away goalscorer in the Premier League, surpassing the previous record of 55 firsts. set by Michael Owen.

Liverpool can be wildly inconsistent, but the Egyptian king’s delivery ability remains reassuringly consistent. I’m now 23 for the season.

No defense for its own sake

There was a recurring theme during a five-game unbeaten run in the Premier League earlier this year, which reignited Liverpool’s Champions League qualification hopes. They have not conceded a goal in any of their games.

However, that appears to be the exception rather than the norm for Klopp’s side, who have now scored three goals or more in nine games this season.

Yes, clean sheets at the Etihad were rare for Liverpool. But the Reds boss was right when he pointed out the passivity of his players who contributed to all four of City’s goals here. If there were individual shortcomings across the board – Alisson Becker the notable exception – more worrying were the collective shortcomings that made things all too easy for Pep Guardiola’s side. They shouldn’t linger, especially with their trip to Chelsea, who have struggled for goals all season, on Tuesday.

If Liverpool start losing needlessly at Stamford Bridge, not only the top four will be in danger. The reputation of the back four is now at stake.