With the post-mortem well underway following Liverpool’s capitulation at Bournemouth, where did it go wrong for Jurgen Klopp’s men? Jamie Carragher offers his thoughts on a dramatic afternoon at the Vitality Stadium…
Having withstood a mini revival from the hosts to restore their two-goal lead at 3-1, Liverpool looked on course for a routine away victory on the south cost.
Just 14 minutes stood between the Merseysiders and a victory that would take them up to second in the Premier League, a point behind leaders Chelsea.
However, by the time the full-time whistle had sounded, the Reds were on the receiving end of one of the most thrilling comebacks in recent Premier League history as the hosts won 4-3.
In the video above, Carragher highlights Klopp’s reluctance to make a tactical change to preserve victory and how panic quickly set in once the Bournemouth recovery had taken hold.
But who, or what, was to blame for Liverpool’s defeat? Were defensive frailties key to the Merseysiders’ demise or did an abject goalkeeping display contribute to their downfall?
Loris Karius’ inconsistent start to life at Liverpool continued as he, at fault for two of the Cherries comeback goals, endured arguably his most uncomfortable afternoon in a Liverpool shirt.
For Carragher it was clear, the 23-year-old failed to come up with the answers when his team needed them most, an aspect of his game he has challenged the young stopper to improve.
“Liverpool have not got a poor defence, and they are not poor defensively,” Carragher told Monday Night Football. “If you’ve got a poor defence, your goalkeeper gets worked a lot.
“The fact Karius has not made many saves tells me Liverpool have not got a poor defence because the ‘keeper has not had to face anything, he has not had to do anything.
“The reason why we were critical of Karius after the Bournemouth game is because you cannot expect your defence to press constantly for 90 minutes, there will be games where people make mistakes.
“There have been two games where he has had questions asked of him; Swansea, where he struggled and was lucky, and Bournemouth, where he did not have the luck, the ball bounced out and he conceded.
“That is why we are critical because he was asked questions and he failed to answer them.
“Having said that, it’s still early days for his Liverpool career, we are not saying he’s finished by any stretch of the imagination. However, over the next 12 to 18 months he has got to improve.”
Source: Sky News
