Anfield is no longer a guarantee for Liverpool. Far from being a fort like the one it was for 68 games in a row without losing – more than three years -, Jürgen Klopp’s team has suddenly dropped the statistics: two consecutive defeats at Anfield in the Premier League, the first time something like this has happened since September 2012. Burnley and Brighton have taken advantage of the doubts of the ‘reds’ and with two 0-1 they have eliminated the reigning champion from the title fight. Or almost. “We are not in the fight for the title, but we are still a good team. You don’t become a bad team overnight, “said Robertson after losing to Brighton.
Liverpool are seven points behind Manchester City but have one more game. And the last opportunity he has to feel like a candidate for the title comes this Sunday, when they receive the ‘citizens’ precisely at Anfield. However, in those high-flying matches is where Klopp’s team performs best. “I am not afraid for them against Manchester City or against better teams. It’s against organized defenses that I think they run out of ideas. The players in the center of the field are the same. Wijnaldum, Milner, Thiago … Nobody brings breadth. They are very similar profiles”Argues Michael Owen, a former Liverpool footballer.
The contrast is obvious. The lack of a goal at Anfield has been added to the multiple casualties that the squad has suffered. Not only in defense, with four center-backs and a goalkeeper injured on the last day, but also in attack, where Mané, Jota or Keita were not at Klopp’s disposal: “Last year they were supermen and now they are human”, in the words of Peter Crouch.
