That figure was more depressing in the Champions League disappointment on Atletico Madrid’s turf,
where they registered none in the whole encounter.
When Watford pulverised their Invincibles ideal at the weekend, they mustered one.
Jurgen Klopp is struggling to find answers right
now (Getty)Liverpool, as benchmark-setting as they have been this season, are currently broken.
“The numbers are there, the facts are there, that’s all clear,” Klopp conceded after a third defeat in four
games.
“I have not a lot of arguments. I cannot say, ‘No, you are not right’ or whatever. It’s a free world, you can
interpret like you want. But I can only speak about what I see. I see the numbers, I know them, that’s not
cool.
“We don’t want to concede that many, it’s not that we don’t want to score again. I don’t sit here and think,
‘OK, the way back to the moment where we can score or we don’t concede is like 100 miles away’.
“It’s little things, but the little things make the difference. The boys are strong, they showed so many times
a wonderful reaction and now we have to show this reaction again. That’s all.”
Beyond the statistics, one of the most concerning aspects during Liverpool’s stumble has been their failure
to retaliate as it has been a main feature of their campaign.
They could not make Atleti, Watford nor Chelsea remotely uncomfortable and struck out when they needed
to strike back.
The European champions, usually so well versed in mistake management, have been increasingly error-
prone. Both of Chelsea’s goal materialised from Liverpool muckery: Adrian spilled Willian’s robust hit for
their opener after Fabinho’s poor touch and poke gifted them possession, before Ross Barkley was
encouraged to drive through midfield and thunder in an effort after more loose, passive play.
Lampard admitted Chelsea had a sprinkling of fortune and as Klopp summarised: “If you make decisive
mistakes then you lose football games.”
While Kepa Arrizabalaga looked more like the world’s most expensive goalkeeper on the night than one
who had been dropped for the six previous fixtures, Liverpool again lacked attacking fluency.
The rearguard, their foundation of steel for so long, has rusted. There is a desperation to pin these lethargic,
alien performances to the absence of the influential Jordan Henderson. Liverpool would no doubt love to
have their captain on the pitch instead of in treatment, but the backroom team and performance analysts
know one player cannot solve all ills – even if Fabinho is struggling to return to his elite standards.