Ian Wright has claimed that Liverpool’s midfield struggled against Crystal Palace on Monday night.
The Reds were held to a 1-1 draw by the Eagles at Anfield despite playing over half an hour with 10-men after Darwin Nunez’s red card.
Jurgen Klopp’s side battled hard during the second half and Harvey Elliott deserves credit for another lively performance, but former Arsenal man Wright has highlighted the fact that the Liverpool midfield were ‘not as potent’ without Thiago Alcantara in the engine room.
“Getting the ball through midfield, I think they’re struggling with that. Harvey Elliott didn’t have any space to really move in,” he told the Liverpool Echo (as quoted by Anfield Central).
“To try and move the ball into areas where they can commit players in the middle and force their way in. Everything of Liverpool has to go out wide. Without Thiago, we see when Thiago’s not playing they’re not as potent.
“They need that midfielder to get the ball into areas where they commit players. That’s what they missed tonight.”
Thiago is joined by Curtis Jones and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as Klopp’s other injured midfielders whilst Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate and Bobby Firmino were also missing through injury against Patrick Vieira’s side.
There was a real lack of creativity for most of the game as Palace mastered their game plan and frustrated the hosts.
We actually looked more threatening after losing Nunez but it’s clear that a significant improvement is required ahead of our next league clash at Old Trafford on Monday.
The Red Devils are certainly not in a good state at the moment, but they will be hungrier than ever after a shocking display away to Brentford at the weekend.
Many Liverpool supporters have been calling out for the club to sign a new midfielder this summer but our German boss has constantly claimed he’s happy with the size and strength of his squad.
The club may be willing to wait a year in order to sign Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund, which is somewhat understandable, but we may live to regret that decision this season.
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