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Liverpool’s January Requirements Laid out Following Late Collapse at Bournemouth
- Updated: December 4, 2016
DEAN COURT, Bournemouth — Kicking off a demanding schedule of Premier League games in December, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool travelled the 265 miles down to the south coast to take on mid-table Bournemouth, with their momentum ultimately sapped in a dramatic 4-3 defeat.
The Reds had never lost against the Cherries in their history and won each of their previous five clashes with the Dorset side this century, and on a 15-game unbeaten run in all competitions, found themselves in a favourable position as they arrived in Boscombe.
This was aided further by Bournemouth’s muted form under Eddie Howe, having lost three of their last five games, suffering defeat at the hands of Middlesbrough, Sunderland and, most recently, Arsenal in the Premier League.
Despite this, before the weekend’s fixtures, only two sides in the bottom half of the league—Middlesbrough (15) and Southampton (12)—had conceded fewer goals then the Cherries; though their 15 goals scored was less than half that of Klopp’s in-form outfit (32).
Klopp made six changes to the side that earned a 2-0 victory at home to Leeds United in the EFL Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday night, recalling the likes of James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane in order to navigate the absences of Philippe Coutinho (ankle) and Daniel Sturridge (calf).
But after an initial spell on domination resulting in goals from Mane and Divock Origi, Liverpool began to collapse, with the introduction of 22-year-old winger Ryan Fraser prompting a remarkable comeback from the Cherries.
The former Aberdeen man won a penalty on 56 minutes, which Callum Wilson stepped up to duly convert, before netting a goal of his own after Emre Can had briefly restored Liverpool’s lead.
Further efforts from Steve Cook and Nathan Ake sealed the three points for the home side, and ending Liverpool’s lengthy run without defeat underlined a key issue for Klopp as 2016 draws to a close.
While the German has expressed a desire to avoid the January transfer window if possible, Sunday’s defeat suggests his Liverpool squad is in need of reinforcement if they are to keep up their Premier League title challenge in 2017.
At Dean Court, Klopp set his side up in his regular 4-3-3 formation, with Mane and Origi joined by Roberto Firmino in the three-man forward line and Henderson, Can and Georginio Wijnaldum forming the Reds’ midfield trio.
Spending much of their warmup focussing on their interchanging attacking play, this six-man group, joined by Milner and Nathaniel Clyne and overseen by elite development coach Pepijn Lijnders, looked drilled to overwhelm the Bournemouth defence:
Liverpool working on attacking play in warmup with Pep Lijnders. @thisisanfield pic.twitter.com/8qzZUtKpah
— Jack Lusby (@jacklusby_) December 4, …
