'Lack of quality depth must be addressed'

[ASFN Admin]

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In the space of a week, the Arne Slot machine that was cruising in three competitions, has ground to a halt.

After exiting the Champions League to Paris Saint Germain and losing to Newcastle United in the League Cup final, Liverpool's sole focus is maintaining their lead at the summit of the Premier League to win silverware this season.

In a campaign that started with little expectation, after Jurgen Klopp's departure, the feeling amongst supporters shifted vastly, due to the nature of the performances at the start of the campaign.

Sunday's defeat is just the sixth since the new head coach arrived. Yet the feeling is Liverpool are now akin to a sports car that has started to run out of fuel.

It's a familiar story. Last season, after winning the League Cup, the club faltered in all other competitions and eventually ended the season with one trophy.

History is repeating itself. The lack of energy and fight at Wembley highlighted a problem: a lack of depth in midfield and defensively, which is now starting to cost them.

Liverpool ended the second leg against PSG with Endo - a defensive midfielder - at centre back, while Jarell Quansah was at right-back due to a lack of available players in that position.

Assuming Curtis Jones is your first available option to bring in for the starting midfield three of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominic Szoboszlai, the options past that aren't of the same standard.

There's been little room to rotate in that area due to the drop off in quality and that is starting to show.

That lack of quality depth must be addressed to avoid making similar mistakes.

Thiago, Diogo Jota and Kostas Tsimikas were brought in on the back of winning the Premier League in 2021.

Jota's arrival has been a quality bit of business, and Tsimikas provides competition at left back, but Thiago didn't hit the heights you'd expect consistently.

After winning the Champions League in 2019, the signings in the summer included Sepp van den Berg, whose LFC career saw him make three starts before being sold on for a sizable profit, Harvey Elliott - who could be set to follow a similar path - Andy Lonergan and Adrian. Takumi Minamino arrived in January.

Without further investment, a title win this season could become an anomaly. The best time to improve is when you're still on top. Just ask Manchester City - who next season you expect to return to being title challengers, as well as the other teams around that top four race all looking to improve.

Under Klopp, the team fought on all four fronts a couple of times. The reality is the squad isn't that far off being able to do that.

The last thing Liverpool should want is to go backwards and end up scrapping for a Champions League place.

It's a good job they have a healthy lead in the league because they are currently stuttering towards the Premier League title.

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[BBC]

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