while Ian Wright wonders if Jurgen Klopp is the right man to handle the difficult situation at the club to fix
Alan Shearer has nominated Joel Matip for his role in Liverpool’s poor performance against Wolves on Saturday.
Matip’s own goal was the fir mindst of three goals Liverpool conceded against Molineux, with Craig Dawson and Ruben Neves securing a 3–0 victory for the home side.
Premier League legend Shearer told Match of the Day that he felt Matip’s performance alongside Joe Gomez in central defense fell short of the level Jurgen Klopp might have expected from the Reds.
Wolves dominated the match from the start, leading 2–0 after 12 minutes, before Neves added a third in the second half. Shearer began by highlighting the issues with Gomez before turning to his 31-year-old defensive partner.
Shearer said: ‘They should have scored four or five in the first 20 minutes, they were so good and so dominant. But Liverpool were too easy to deal with, he became a soft touch, without energy.
He has conceded three goals in his last three away games. There was no pressure on the ball, Gomez gets dragged out and then you have time to choose your pass, it’s too easy, Gomez is out of position. “But then watch Matip. You have time to get your pass, put it in the back, Matip stops. He’s on his way to close it and stops. I don’t know what he’s doing .
I mean, he had a nightmare today. [After the back pass] Again Matip, unacceptable, not good enough, it should be in the back of the net. [Klopp] is not coming out of this Liverpool team enough at the moment.
Shearer’s colleague Ian Wright has questioned whether Klopp is the right man to get Liverpool out of their current situation.
Wright said: “You have to say, can he revive this team? Are you reacting to him? It doesn’t look like it. “Do you think, can they get a reset this season? Clear this season and find out in the summer. But you don’t know what’s going on in the summer, who’s being sold or what’s going on. They seem to be in limbo right now.”
As Sportsmail previously reported, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher also struck out at the club’s “chaotic” defence, in a tweet posted during their poor showing on Saturday afternoon.
Gomez arrived at Liverpool for the Wolves match, having replaced Ibrahima Konate, who partnered Matip for the Brighton match, which also ended in defeat. Carragher said he feels Klopp’s defense desperately needs the return of star man Virgil Van Dijk, who has missed recent games with a hamstring injury.
Liverpool, now 11 points from Champions League places, are next in action when they host the Merseyside Derby against Arsenal conquerors Everton.
Following Wolves’ loss, goalkeeper Alisson accepted Liverpool’s current form could rule them out of Champions League qualification and urged the Reds ‘not to concede stupid goals’.
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Liverpool might make an official offer for the 25-year-old Bundesliga playmaker when the windows open
Liverpool have decided to make an official offer for a 25-year-old Bundesliga playmaker midfielder.
Liverpool to sign 25-year-old Bundesliga playmaker
Liverpool are keen to sign Konrad Laimer for the Merseyside giants. And the 25-year-old midfielder is open to joining a PL squad.
Man United were also apparently eyeing Laimer during the summer transfer window but decided to sign Casemiro from Real Madrid instead.
Meanwhile, with Konrad open to a move to an English club, it will be interesting to see if the Reds decide to make the switch during the winter transfer window.
The Austrian international has a contract with RB Leipzig until the summer of 2023. And the giants of the Bundesliga could collect it during the winter transfer market.
They won’t want to lose a crucial amount on a free transfer, and it makes sense for them to sell it for a nominal price in the winter. Even if the mid-season transfer goes through, the Austrian midfielder could sign a pre-contract with foreign clubs in the winter.
The Merseyside club are in need of reinforcements in midfield and Konrad looks like a perfect signing for them.
Fabinho is currently having a difficult time and Jürgen Klopp needs to bring more quality to his defensive midfield role. And the Reds would have been in contact with Laimer.
Konrad would challenge the Brazilian midfielder for the starting spot and the growing competition will only help both footballers improve. Whether the Reds can convince the Bundesliga giants to sell the player for a reasonable price in January remains to be seen.
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unexpectedly, Jurgen Klopp’s woes deepen as big win lifts home side out of relegation zone making matters more than was predicted.
The report and highlights from the free game, including Joel Matip’s own goal, Craig Dawson’s own goal and a Ruben Neves shot, give Wolves a comfortable win over Liverpool. Julen Lopetegui’s side are 15th while Jurgen Klopp’s out-of-form Reds remain 10th
Joel Matip’s own goal, followed by Craig Dawson’s opener, put Liverpool in danger early on and although the visitors ran hard in the second half, it was Wolves captain Ruben Neves who sealed the win. victory for Julen Lopetegui’s men at a jubilant Molineux.
It’s a fourth game without a Premier League win for Klopp’s runaway side and there have been problems at both ends of the pitch for his side here in what was a goal-line repeat at Brighton in the month last. Liverpool remain tenth in the table.
As for Wolves, Everton’s victory over Arsenal had put the pressure on before kick-off and plunged them into the last three, but they played as a side capable of much more than scraping the bottom of the table. The three points lift them three places to 15th place, leaving Liverpool in disarray.
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