Jurgen Klopp’s warning that his Liverpool players face burn-out as the winter fixtures pile up needed no further proof than on Wednesday night, where an insipid display against Atalanta exposed the sobering issues currently unresolved in this Reds side.
This was the sort of evening where Liverpool may have expected to just “show up”. Having outplayed Atalanta 5-0 in Bergamo last month, there were few doubting another Reds victory was on the cards.
If anything it was the perfect game where Liverpool could experiment with a few more of their reserve players. Klopp named his 10th different partnership in the heart of defence already this season and gave striker Divock Origi a rare start. But it was in the midfield where they were truly lacking.
All too often Atalanta crowded out Liverpool’s forwards, who had fallen back into the centre in an effort to influence play. James Milner, Curtis Jones and Georginio Wijnaldum spent so much time looking over their shoulder at the opposition press that they couldn’t help those who are meant to get the goals.
Here, i looks at four worst performances from the 2-0 defeat and who could lay claim to an unwanted man-of-the-match award…
Sadio Mane 4/10
Having scored just once in his last seven outings, Klopp will have hoped one of his premier strikers would take the game by the horns at Anfield. But Sadio Mane laboured to produce anything of real substance for much for the night.
The forward began on the left side and enjoyed some brief link-up play with Origi, yet the combinations usually led to Liverpool going back into midfield. Atalanta’s central men pressed well, defending deep when required and squeezing Mane to play with his back to goal.
For a player who thrives going forward – just like Mohamed Salah – it was a frustrating night for Mane. His only goal since bagging the opener against Everton in mid-October was a consolation in Bergamo. One of the reasons Klopp bought Diogo Jota was to potentially phase out one of Liverpool’s famed front three, and right now Mane looks most likely to lose his place.
Divock Origi 4/10
Origi had managed just 210 minutes of first-team football before Wednesday night and this was his chance to stake a claim for that centre-forward spot Klopp needs to keep fresh during the impeding Christmas fixture pile-up.
But the striker offered very little in terms of goal threat and was eventually withdrawn. Acting as a central kingpin for Mane and Salah to play off, Origi’s task on Wednesday couldn’t have been simpler. But all too often the ball slowed down when coming up to the front man.
He wasn’t helped by a stodgy midfield that laboured to meet the forward line and provide further options. But neither did Origi particularly dazzle on his own. Klopp has bemoaned injuries to other areas of his squad but up front he has plenty of options, even in reserve. This should have been a night where the Belgian – signed by Brendan Rodgers in 2014 the same summer Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren joined the club – made his claim to extend his stay at Anfield.
Kostas Tsimikas 5/10
This was a tricky night for the Greece international. Having made just two Reds appearances since his £11.7m arrival from Olympiacos in the summer, Kostas Tsimikas was never expected to be an immediate first-teamer on Merseyside.
However, with Klopp’s defensive ranks impacted by injury and fatigue – and against a team Liverpool so easily dismantled last month – this should have been the perfect game to give Tsimikas 90 minutes.
Yet the left-back proved ineffective going forward and pinned back far too often by the Atalanta midfield. Without a bombastic full-back down the flank, Mane was forced to drop deeper and deeper to have any sort of influence on the game. Tsimikas was hooked the moment Atalanta scored the opener. He’ll almost certainly feature at some point during the Christmas period but Klopp will hope he doesn’t have to rely on the 24-year-old too often.
Gini Wijnaldum 4/10
Having veteran Milner on one side and the inexperienced Jones on the other in midfield, the impetus was on Georginio Wijnaldum to do the running at Anfield. The Dutchman is well versed in protecting his back line one moment and rapidly turning a defensive system into attack.
But he provided very little to Liverpool’s forward line tonight. Indeed, Wijnaldum was effectively cooped in the heart of the pitch, undecided on whether to pick up compatriot Marten de Roon or Remo Freuler, and unable to escape either when in possession.
Having failed to stamp his influence on the game, Wijnaldum was substituted along with three others on the hour mark.
Alisson 6/10
Goalkeepers in the group stage of the Champions League can sometimes end up having little to do when the elite-level clubs take on lesser opposition. And while Liverpool defended with ease in Bergamo last month, they were certainly caught out on a number of occasions here.
Potentially Liverpool’s player of the night – although that isn’t much of a boast – Alisson did well to deny Robin Gosens’ surprise effort from the angle early on and positionally remained alert when the visitors burst forward, particularly early in the second half when Josip Ilicic was a yard off latching onto a through-ball.
He couldn’t do anything about Atalanta’s opener, which came from a delightful Papu Gomez cross from the right. Nor was he able to stop the second, this time from Gossens. It was Liverpool’s midfield weaknesses that lost them the game here, not the goalkeeper.
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