LONDON — Liverpool began their new season as you, the neutral, would hope they’ll go on. Full-throated in attack, perfectly prepared to leave gaps behind them, they’ve set the stage for a season where they might score three or four on any occasion. They might need to, too.
That much was apparent as the Community Shield was decided from 12 yards out, FA Cup winners Crystal Palace adding another prize to the first major trophy in their history. As Dean Henderson doffed his cap to the Selhurst faithful who’d made the journey from south London to north west, the Liverpool players looked altogether more crestfallen than might be expected for a glorified friendly. Jeremie Frimpong sat frozen on the Wembley turf, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai staring at the rapidly emptying end that had been filled with their supporters.
Were they feeling cause for concern? The 90 minutes that preceded the shootout did at least broach the question as to whether the $356 million Liverpool have spent addressing the few flaws in last season’s title winners have only served to create new ones. For a first semi-competitive outing together, the new-look front four spearheaded by Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz looked more than ready to ease the burden on Mohamed Salah, whose tough outing culminated in a penalty blazed over the bar.
New fullbacks were required, but Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong hardly look like a zig towards caution after the zagging attacks of Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold over the past eight years. Crystal Palace knew they would be the weak points, that a team lacking a natural destroyer in midfield would struggle to compensate when their fullbacks bomb on. Now the rest of the league will see what they view as the soft underbelly of the champions.
They’re going to have to get to it, though. That means quelling the devastating interplay that Liverpool unleashed as early as the fourth minute. Kerkez, as was his want throughout this game, took the ball and drove on an underlapping run through midfield. That opened space for both Ekitike and Cody Gakpo, the latter finding Wirtz where you can always find Wirtz, with a few yards of space. A fizzed ball through the line to Ekitike, who held off the defense before bending low into the far corner.
When that front four clicked, it was a joy. Ekitike drifted left to aid Gakpo while the presence of Frimpong over his shoulder gave Salah license to move as and where the inclination took him. By last season’s standards, this was the Egyptian King at his most subdued. No matter, there is a new prince on Anfield who they may soon be celebrating with similar gusto.
Wirtz was everywhere, dropping deep to set the tempo of play or to carry upfield with purposeful dribbling. Blue and red shirts converged on him, but he already seems to have learned just where his teammates will be for those last-second offloads, a particularly gorgeous flick to Gakpo cruelly unconverted. The former Bayer Leverkusen man holds himself with the languidness of the number 10s of yore but just wait until he’s on your coat tails when he wants possession. On this evidence, $150 million-plus is a price worth paying.
The questions about Liverpool’s recruitment lie elsewhere. New fullbacks were certainly needed but neither Kerkez nor the undersized Frimpong are the sort who are at their best curbing their attacking instincts. When it all clicks in possession it can be extremely effective, Kerkez a dynamo darting beyond the ball on runs that take midfielders with him and Frimpong always looking to stretch to the byline. The Dutchman would mark his debut in memorable fashion, his miscued cross floating over Dean Henderson as the clock struck 20:20 and the Liverpool end paid tribute to the departed and much missed Diogo Jota.
At the other end, however, such front-footed defenders were too frequently exploited. Ismaila Sarr dragged Kerkez infield and Palace kept hitting the crossfield ball for Daniel Munoz to run onto, Gakpo offering little protection whether he tracked back or not. Liverpool struggled up the center, too, Jean-Phillipe Mateta driving in behind to claim a through ball. Alisson scrambled to block the initial break, but no one in off white was on hand to deal with the danger before Virgil van Dijk brought down Sarr.
This was a trying game for the 34-year-old, caught stepping up on his own when another precise through ball from Adam Wharton found Sarr. A clip past Alisson and a game that was petering out in the final 15 minutes was revived. Palace might have had more, Mateta skewing over soon after his side had been denied a penalty for an Alexis Mac Allister handball.
It might have been an easier day for Van Dijk et al with the first choice double pivot ahead of him. Ryan Gravenberch was absent after his partner gave birth on Saturday night, while Mac Allister was confined to the bench. Neither of them are particularly natural destroyers but the Liverpool end were surely pinning for the duo. In their place, Curtis Jones was conservative enough while Dominik Szoboszlai had a curious habit of flicking the ball diffidently across his own half. In most systems, that is flirting with danger. In Liverpool’s, it’s a shotgun wedding.
This ought to be the worst Liverpool’s defense looks, at least when at full strength. This was hardly a superpower of catennacio before the changes at fullback, but with reps together, Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate learned how best to cover for Alexander-Arnold and Robertson. Then again, the next time those gaps emerge, it will be when the games really count. The rest of the league will see this and convince themselves the champions are there to be got at.
Add Comment