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Jamie Carragher has criticized Liverpool’s defensive fragilities and believes the Reds are leaving too much space in behind for opposition sides to exploit.
That was certainly the case for Brentford’s second goal on Saturday in the 3-2 defeat, when Mikkel Damsgaard produced a defense-splitting pass for Kevin Schade, who then coolly finished past Giorgi Mamardashvili.
But Carragher, showing clips of Liverpool’s defensive set-up on Sky Sports, also highlighted how the Reds’ high defensive line provided space for Brentford’s long balls, which resulted in rushed, panic-stricken decisions at the back. That was the case within 90 seconds, when Conor Bradley got too tight to Schade and provided room for a ball over the top.
It resulted in Mamardashvili sprinting out of his goal to deal with the pass and knocking it out for a throw-in, something Arne Slot revealed post-match that he wanted his side to avoid.
“Conor Bradley — he’s not the biggest player in the world or the quickest or the most powerful man on the pitch,” explained Carragher, as he flicked through clips of Liverpool’s defending at the Gtech Community Stadium.
“So, what happens is he gets far too tight at times to opposition players and really aggressive because I don’t think he’s confident enough in his physicality, and that’s why he gets so many yellow cards.
“So, he gets tight and that means the space in behind and then he can’t cope with the ball over the top and that all comes from maybe a lack of strength initially to deal with the physical challenge.”
A similar situation resulted in a throw-in being conceded a few minutes later, from which Brentford’s Dango Ouattara scored the game’s first goal. And Carragher was critical of Milos Kerkez, who lost the winger at the back post.
“Liverpool don’t deal with it as well,” said the pundit. “So, we’re talking about the lack of physicality from Conor Bradley, your right-back.
“This is twice now already this season - we’ve seen Kerkez again, who’s not the biggest, getting caught out at the back post.
“That’s something I think Liverpool have got to look at going forward, the actual physicality and height in the team, because right now I don’t think they’ve got enough of it.”
Liverpool’s lack of physicality stands in contrast to leaders Arsenal, who again scored from a set-piece at the weekend as the north London team beat Crystal Palace 1-0.
As Carragher highlighted, the Gunners look most equipped to win the title at present, with long balls and set-pieces becoming the dominant tactical trends.
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