Liverpool left in crisis of confidence and identity after Leicester defeat

It was 18 mad minutes that had given Liverpool hope and then crushed it in the most startling manner, perhaps acting as a perfect metaphor for their season.

Mohamed Salah had finished expertly, so confidently, after a delicious pirouette and backheel from Roberto Firmino to give the defending champions the lead at King Power Stadium and the sense they were heading for what would have been a deserved victory.

Then, the disaster. It showed 67 on the clock when the Egyptian struck and 10 minutes later they were relieved when VAR had ruled that Thiago fouled Harvey Barnes just outside the area. 

The pedigreed midfielder signed from Bayern Munich has an unhelpful habit of giving away unnecessary fouls, worse when they materialise in a dangerous area.

So no penalty, but no matter for Leicester. James Maddison’s low free-kick evaded a swarm of players and curled into the bottom right, but the flag was up for Daniel Amartey, who had motioned towards the ball, being offside.

READ MORE: Premier League fixtures and table — all matches by date and kick-off time

A check overruled that decision, the goal stood and Liverpool would collapse in eye-widening fashion.

Leicester’s second was created from a defensive catastrophe. There was miscommunication between Alisson and debutant Ozan Kabak over dealing with a long ball over the top from Youri Tielemans. The goalkeeper came racing out of his area to clear, with the 20-year-old priming to get rid as well.

The pair only succeeded in colliding, allowing Jamie Vardy to usher the ball into an empty net.

Liverpool had suddenly parted, no sense of control or structure, with every Leicester move looking like it could end in another goal. 

Barnes should have made it three after being given the freedom of the left but his low, hard shot towards the right was parried by Alisson, who then superbly saved from Vardy. 

That will be forgotten given what came right before it. There was no better after it.

Brendan Rodgers’ men, rightly sniffing blood, simply flooded forward again. Barnes embarked on another run down the inside left, worked his way into the box, opened his body and banged the ball into the corner.

Leicester had three goals in seven minutes and Liverpool were left facing another crisis of confidence, character and identity. 

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The Liverpool that conquered Europe and then stormed the league last season are no more, decimated by severe key injuries, mentally and physically fatigued from having to absorb blow after blow.

Even when they are good, the switch to dysfunctional is rapid.

“They capitulate after conceding, that’s a big concern,” Rio Ferdinand noted on BT Sport.

“This was a team you talked about having leaders, mental strength, resilience, they’re robust - they are anything but those things at the moment. When the first goal went in, they became a soft touch.”

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola’s insight was equally interesting. “It’s the same Liverpool that I met in the last years,” he said. “The quality they play - doing what they did against Leicester, who were almost not able to pass the halfway - it’s still there.

“They are not so clinical as they were before. Football is a mood, a feeling, not tactics sometimes. Every team lives this period sometimes but the quality of the team is still there.”

Arsene Wenger, meanwhile, drilled deeper into the issues of the system with all their absentees.

Liverpool’s injuries at present read: Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho, Diogo Jota, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, James Milner, Ben Davies, Naby Keita, Divock Origi and Caoimhin Kelleher.

“They lost Van Dijk and what was their strength was winning the ball high with him and Jordan Henderson in midfield,” Wenger analysed on BeIn Sport. “By moving the captain back, they’ve lost that as well. 

“Liverpool were very efficient because the time on the ball for the opponent was short.

“By changing structure, they’ve given more time to their opponents. They used to win the ball higher up and quickly feed their strikers.

“That was the main reason for their success - and of course - good defensive stability. They have lost a bit of all of that.”

Liverpool top the injury table and are also at the summit for errors leading to goals.

All the hallmarks of the team from a playing style and mentally point of view have faded to the point where a really positive display needs very little to swing into a shambles. See City at Anfield last week and now Leicester away.

“We played football, we did pretty much everything, scored a really nice goal,” Klopp said.

“The game was really good, but they you concede these two goals. The third goal was something I don’t like, because we were too open and I told the boys that is not OK. But it is the situation we are in. Tough times.

“You saw we tried everything, it is not that we did not try. We were confident and played a super game. The turning point was the first goal. But that’s a point we take of criticism, that it changed too much with this one goal.

“We didn’t react well, I take that.”

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Alarmingly, even when they have shown extended signs of the team we know them to be, Liverpool stumble: they have lost on the spin to rivals by a 7-2 margin. 

The injuries are not letting up, neither is the misfortunate and the poor decision-making heightening their mess.

It’s crowded in the battle for top four and Liverpool can no longer afford to be their own enemies with so much already against them.