Trent Alexander-Arnold's new role has opened both new opportunities and disadvantages. — Liverpool v Bournemouth
Liverpool are poised to score 101 goals this season. Until their restructuring is complete, they, too, may be a century behind.
As the metaphors say, playing in front of the unfinished new Anfield Road stand was apt for this thrilling but imperfect victory over Bournemouth, Jurgen Klopp's refurbishment . needs the same improvement as the new top level with 9,000 seats available.
The general consensus is that Liverpool are rebooting, it just needs a defensive midfielder to put all the pieces together. Wakaru Endo impressed on his debut, bringing a semblance of composure to the last 30 minutes of this 3-1 win. The timing of his arrival couldn't have been better after Alex Mack Allister's abrupt dismissal due to a serious challenge to Ryan Christie that saw Liverpool reduced to 10 men.< /p>
But even with 11 o'clock, the previous hour showed why it would take more than a single No. 6 to stop Klopp's team from drawing crazy schemes, wild passes, quickening the pulse in both penalty chaotic competitions. Liverpool could have scored twice as many as the three that took them to victory, and Bournemouth could still walk away wondering how they failed to score a point.
Klopp's rebooted Liverpool now resembles a football experiment concocted by those romantics who only care about the number of goals conceded, as long as it is one less than the opponent. This is the team that makes Kevin Keegan's Newcastle United side of the mid-1990s pragmatic. There could be a carnage when they travel to St James' Park next week, although even if Mack Allister's appeal succeeds (Klopp confirmed it will), it's unlikely he'll head northeast with the same lineup with four strikers . /p>
The hybrid role of Trent Alexander-Arnold shows how exciting this approach can be with the ball and alarmingly flawed and fragile without it. At the end of last season, the move from full-backs to the centres, was a big success, helped by Ibrahima Konate's ability to take on both full-backs and his main centre-back duties.
Two games this season, it looks like Klopp has to make a firm decision about who Alexander-Arnold is; fullback or midfielder? What looked like an ingenious compromise that allowed him to simultaneously participate in a belated bid for Champions League qualification last May risks becoming overly complicated if, as Bournemouth's approach suggested, the rest of the Premier League had already figured out how to counter his positioning.< /p>
There was an obsession with Liverpool's Fabinho personality and Henderson's replacement, and little focus on whether the club should look for another right-back, allowing Alexander-Arnold to take the same fixed position for his club as he appears to be now. designed for your country. This looks like a curious and potentially misguided oversight, given that Alexander-Arnold seems like a ready-made solution when reinforcements are needed before the defense. Minute-by-minute repositioning can work when Liverpool dominate the ball, but according to this evidence, it gives the opposition an obvious target that can be avoided.
True, not all Anfield guests will be as ambitious as Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, but many will be taller and one cannot ignore how and where the Cherries won twice within the first three minutes. A long ball to Liverpool's right resulted in an Alexander-Arnold error within 57 seconds. The hosts were lucky when Jadon Anthony was offside after hitting the ball. two minutes later as a defender, and Antoine Semegno subsequently fired past Alisson in front of an incredulous Cope.
Although Liverpool «wake up» and established their class with huge attacking power, Bournemouth never ceased to threaten, Liverpool were always vulnerable to counter-attack speed when losing possession. Alisson, as usual, made at least two world-class saves. Over the past 12 months, he has been required to do this far too often. Against more high-scoring strikers, Liverpool would have been punished more severely.
For all that — unlike Chelsea last week — the half-filled brigade still had much more to cling to, seeing how Liverpool is transforming.
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If it's menu taster Dominik Soboslaj, the Hungarian will be serving Michelin-starred standard cuisine this season. He led the cavalry charge from forward midfield, winning the penalty from which Mohamed Salah eventually secured the lead, and was key to Diogo Jota adding a third.
“He ran all over the place. The general level of play since he arrived here has been really good and we will see more of his shooting skills in the future,” Klopp said.
Liverpool could also be thrilled with second Luis Diaz the same number of games, the Colombian is back in the form that preceded last season's untimely injury.
As work progresses, Liverpool look quite advanced in recreating the joyriders who have wrought hell against opposition centre-backs in Klopp's first few years before heavy metal. has given way to a more cultured symphony.
It's still more like freestyle jazz at the moment, full of impromptu brilliance with no certainty of where it will go next.
Lineups — Premier League 23/24 — Liverpool — Bournemouth
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