Gary Neville has warned Jurgen Klopp that a lack of quality depth in the attack could prove costly for Liverpool this season.
The Reds’ star trio of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are widely accepted as one of the best forward lines on the planet, but despite all that firepower Liverpool are goalless in their last three games. , the most recent of which was Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Manchester United.
This drought has seen Liverpool fall to fourth in the Premier League table, and Neville insisted Sky SportsMonday night football that Klopp is too scared to rest his tired front three due to the lack of quality alternatives.
“For me, I feel like it’s under control at Liverpool. They played non-stop for three years and the fourth year is still the year of burnout, ”he said. “For three years, they’ve been amazing. This year we have seen a dip and it is natural.
“He could potentially give them rest, but they don’t rest. The two or three players under these first three – [Xherdan] Shaqiri, [Takumi] Minamino and [Divock] Origi – are not good enough.
“I would say that the problems for Liverpool are not the first three, it is [Diogo] Jota’s injury, the season being at 100mph and the three under them are not good enough to give them a rest as City have pushed them.
The trio of Shaqiri, Minamino and Origi are seldom granted starts, but in their limited minutes they have only managed one Premier League goal between them. Last season that number was five, four of which came from Origi.
As Neville focused on reserves, co-expert Jamie Carragher took the opportunity to question Firmino, admitting he was concerned about the Brazilian’s future at Anfield.
“Bringing other players into the game dropped and the counter-pressing and catching dropped,” Carragher said. “I’m not just saying this season, I’m going back to last season when Liverpool won the league.
“I was worried then, wondering if I could [Firmino] return it. He’s the one that worries me the most and if there’s one to delete before the others, I probably think it would be Firmino. Sooner or later this front three will have to be broken.
“The goals drop steadily. What also stands out are its possession numbers. It’s a massive fall. When he wasn’t getting the goals and the assists he was doing the other things, but that’s a huge drop.
“He’s the one who worries me. Whether it’s a lack of form or that slow decline with age, which is natural for any striker when it comes to the late 20s as they don’t play as long as other players. football fields. “
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