Liverpool legend, Jamie Carragher has revealed that the team’s lack of intensity in the center of the park is the main reason behind their poor start to the season.
Carragher said this while reacting to Liverpool’s embarrassing UEFA Champions League 4-1 loss to Napoli on Wednesday night.
Liverpool opened their Champions League campaign on a disastrous note as Napoli thrashed the Premier League giants at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
Piotr Zielinski scored twice, while Franck Zambo Anguissa and Giovanni Simeone scored a goal each to give Luciano Spalletti’s men the vital win over Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Speaking to CBS Sports, Carragher said, “We mentioned that before the game, this is a problem – the high line and that they aren’t actually getting pressure on the ball. The thing for me right now is that Liverpool plays a high-risk game, but they’re not pressing the ball to stop that high-risk game and it’s causing them problems.
“It’s not a problem with how high the line is, it’s about being compact, being together. But when someone gets time on the ball. So often we say, it’s too easy to get through Liverpool’s midfield. That didn’t happen before, so you could play that high line and be really compact. But if that’s not happening, you have to adapt.”
He added: “It’s embarrassing, it really is. I said before, it’s kids’ stuff and this is the big problem right now. They’ve built their success on intensity on the ball, which means their opposition can’t get their head up to put the ball over. So your team is always tight and always really compact, always a risk, but you’ve got energy on the ball. That energy is not there now.”
Liverpool’s next game is against Wolves in the Premier League this weekend.
