RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: Liverpool go from mentality monsters to hiding under the duvet

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There have been a few moments in this most brutal fall down the mountain where it has been necessary to wonder how exactly it came to this for Liverpool. On Saturday, one such case occurred in stoppage time.

It was rooted in the vision of Mo Salah chasing shadows alone as Wolves’ back line rotated possession around him in a one-touch blur of cruelty.

With each pass came the ‘ole’ taunt from around Molineux and there were a good four or five of those. If it occurred to any of Salah’s teammates to join the hunt, to go in packs like they did when everything was going well, then let’s just say it wasn’t immediately obvious.

In fact, their pride at 3-0 seems to have gone the same way as their defense, midfield, attack, pressing system, transfer budget and aura in recent weeks and beyond. Mentality monsters? They were last seen hiding from Craig Dawson and Mario Lemina under the duvet.

But that’s how Liverpool is now, barely eight months after playing in the Champions League final at the end of a season in which they were on the brink of four trophies and won two. Were they the last great days of a magnificent dynasty? The passage of time has given it that kind of appearance.

Jurgen Klopp's side have gone from being mental monsters to hiding from Wolves' Craig Dawson

Jurgen Klopp’s side have gone from being mental monsters to hiding from Wolves’ Craig Dawson

Craig Dawson's first goal for Wolves put Liverpool 2-0 down as they fell to another defeat

Craig Dawson’s first goal for Wolves put Liverpool 2-0 down as they fell to another defeat

Of course, betting against Jurgen Klopp is only slightly less foolish than burning your money outright, and yet the current stench sits worse than at any time since he found his footing at Anfield.

That they have lost back-to-back away games at Brentford, Brighton and Wolves by a total of 9-1 is worrying. That it is no longer possible to judge which is the greatest responsibility between his defense and the midfield smells of spreading rot.

The abandonment of that midfield through multiple transfer windows has undermined the entire operation, and talking about that topic is hardly a surprise at this point, but even with injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, who could have imagined that the bottom line would fall? so far below the usual standard? Jamie Carragher nailed his assessment of how Joe Gomez and Joel Matip fared on Saturday, tweeting: ‘Not too hard to play center back alongside the leader of the back four. Judge central defenders when they have to lead themselves. symbolic.

Judging by Klopp’s fury during the first 12 minutes, a period in which Matip scored an own goal and Dawson made it 2-0, the pundit and the manager were on the same page.

For Liverpool to concede three to what was statistically the worst attack in the Premier League (in doing so, Klopp’s side have now sent more in 20 games than in the entirety of last season) was enough to make one wonder if ‘messy’ ‘ was a generous touch.

At a reasonable moment during a nervous press conference, Klopp was right to point out that there was improvement after being two goals down. They got better, found a degree of control, created space for Salah and Darwin Nunez to waste, and in Stefan Bajcetic, the manager has a teenage midfielder who has the intuition and technique to thrive.

For now that serves as a lit match in a very dark cave, because chaos in other areas is too limiting.

That was best demonstrated by Matip’s bruised confidence and poor touches, the defense’s repeated failure to close out Wolves forwards, losing duels and also a catalog of misplaced passes, including one from Gomez that triggered the goal by Rubén Neves to make it 3-0. . Even then, Gomez was arguably less to blame than Thiago, who didn’t try to track Neves’ run into the box.

Liverpool's midfield struggled to find a foothold in the game as they were constantly overrun.

Liverpool’s midfield struggled to find a foothold in the game as they were constantly overrun.

Eight months after playing in the Champions League final, Liverpool looks like a different team

Eight months after playing in the Champions League final, Liverpool looks like a different team

None of these were such recurring traits under Klopp prior to this season, and none would suggest a quick end to the routine, meaning his nadir might not have arrived yet. It is therefore a matter of ominous timing that the next time they play a Merseyside derby against an Everton side they will surf their win over Arsenal.

“He has to change,” Klopp said, and he’s not kidding. He went on to answer the necessary questions, including his ‘absolute’ confidence in his ability to navigate the crisis and also his faith in the team’s raw material.

But Klopp also exhibits that familiar awkward manager vibe, best seen when he refuses to take questions from a reporter who has covered Liverpool for more than a decade. Testy exchanges with journalists are nothing new, and they’re not an isolated problem, either, but the episode played into the general theme of disheveled hair.

As it is, the only hope for Klopp’s season is the Champions League, with the pressure attached that they are unlikely to return there through the top four in the Premier League. The challenge around the big picture was posed to goalkeeper Alisson.

“We have to think about the next games, that’s what we have in our hands,” he said. “We are not in a position to think too much about what we can do at the end of the season, we have to think about what we can do better now and win the next game ahead of us.”

Much easier said than done these days.

Rubén Neves added the third goal for Wolves in their win against Liverpool after a mistake by Joe Gómez

Rubén Neves added the third goal for Wolves in their win against Liverpool after a mistake by Joe Gómez