Jamie Carragher provided a fascinating analysis of Liverpool’s appalling defensive performance against Napoli on Wednesday night.
Jurgen Klopp’s men, who boasted one of the best defensive records of any teams in recent years were easily pulled apart by a rampant Napoli side at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
The Serie A side raced to a 3-0 half time lead to put themselves over the hill and far away, leaving the Liverpool players shellshocked.
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In the second half, things got worse before Luis Diaz managed to restore some pride with a consolation goal.
After the 4-1 defeat, former Reds defender Carragher didn’t cut corners as he began his analysis for CBS Sports.
He said: “This is a problem for Liverpool: the high line. They’re not actually getting pressure on the ball. It was interesting Andy Robertson said then: ‘We weren’t compact, we weren’t pressing enough’.
“Right now, Liverpool play a high-risk game but they’re not pressing the ball to stop that high-risk game and it’s causing them the problem.
“It’s not a problem with how high the line is, it’s about being compact, being together. 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.”
Carragher continued: “People may criticise me, even Liverpool supporters, because this team is so fantastic and this is what they have done, they’ve had great success.. But all I am talking about is five yards. I’m not talking about a Liverpool team retreating 10, 15, 20 yards back.
“What I’m saying is that when the ball is there and you know he’s going to kick it, you are ready to go and as he goes to kick it, you go back. And if he doesn’t kick it, you’ve only gone two yards and then you get back to your line.”
The former England international then labelled some of Liverpool’s defending as ‘embarrassing’.
Carragher added: “It’s embarrassing, it really is. I said before, it’s kids’ stuff and this is the big problem with Liverpool 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. So that back-four has to adapt.
“If they keep playing that [high line] they are going to have a big problem, in terms of the Premier League this season and qualifying for the next round of the Champions League.”
It is looking like it will be a long season for Liverpool fans.
Topics: Jamie Carragher, Liverpool, Napoli, Champions League
Marcus Chan