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Jamie Carragher reveals the two things Jurgen Klopp’s team are missing in bid to catch Manchester City.
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher outlined the Reds’ deficiencies and said why he does not think the team will win the league title this year.
Luis Diaz’s last-minute heroics lifted Liverpool out of a 1-1 draw with Luton Town in the Premier League on Sunday, sparing his team’s blushes.
Former Liverpool player Carragher concluded that the squad is still not good enough to contend for the Premier League championship this season after reviewing the team’s performance against the Minnows. In addition, he offered the recruiters some guidance that may benefit the team in the upcoming months.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Carragher said: “What Liverpool have had in the last 18 months, they’re a lot better at it this season, they’re still not as good as Manchester City at stopping counter-attacks.
“People always think about Liverpool pressing from the front, but Liverpool are a team who dominate possession, have a lot of the ball. They’re not quite as good as City in possession so there are more turnovers when they lose the ball. Opponents seem to find spaces a lot more to get in behind and attack Liverpool. Luton didn’t have the quality to really punish them except for the goal that we saw.”
While the club signed Alexis Mac Allister during the summer, the former Reds star believes they still need one more holding midfielder in their team to bolster the squad, adding: “Liverpool in midfield are a lot improved than we saw last season but they still haven’t got a top holding midfield player. Mac Allister’s not a holding midfield player. He’s good on the ball in terms of receiving but defensively he finds it really tough and lacks a bit of pace for that position, so I still think they can improve there.”
He also urged the club to sign a backup for Trent Alexander-Arnold, which will allow Jurgen Klopp to use the English international in multiple positions.
He added, “I think in the back four Liverpool could do with not so much a player for a specific position but almost just a great defender who can play a couple of positions. They went with [Joe] Gomez today at left-back instead of [Kostas] Tsimikas, they thought he’d be stronger defensively. I still think Liverpool could do with another player in that position, probably on the other side at right-back and maybe release Trent at different times maybe into midfield, against certain opposition you play someone there who’s maybe stronger and tougher defensively.
“I think Liverpool are not ready to win the league, I think Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool supporters know that right now. They want to get back in the top four but in terms of challenging again I think they need another midfield player and a top-class defender.”
The next Europa League matchup for Klopp’s team is against Toulouse on Thursday.