Liverpool facing worrying truth as Alisson injury disrupts defensive plans

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson looks dejected after conceding a goal during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Liverpool FC at St. James Park on August 27, 2023

When Liverpool last visited Brentford at the start of 2023, it prompted the beginning of the end for Jurgen Klopp’s first great team. Today’s latest trip, though, represents the ideal opportunity to underline why the departing manager’s latest evolution is only just getting started.

That 3-1 reverse at the Gtech Community Stadium set in motion a sequence of events that ultimately led to Klopp ripping apart the squad that had conquered all while introducing a fresh tactical approach, changes that have ensured the Reds currently top the Premier League table.

Yes, worse was to come at Brighton and Wolves, two real low points of Klopp’s reign. But the seeds were truly planted in that defeat to Thomas Frank’s side, Liverpool bullied at set-pieces and on the counter-attack and having Virgil van Dijk limp off and be absent from the horrors that subsequently followed.

Liverpool have come a long way since, both as a team and a defensive unit. Indeed, only Arsenal have leaked fewer than the 23 goals Klopp’s side have conceded in the Premier League this season. Recently, however, there have been a few signs their resolve has been weakening a little.

The Reds have shipped eight goals in their last five games, compared to eight in their previous 11 – two of which came in the Europa League group stage dead rubber against Union Saint-Gilloise.

The heavy rotation among the squad has no doubt contributed. Alexis Mac Allister and Wataru Endo have been switching as the number six, while Caoimhin Kelleher has already made more appearances in goal – 13 – than in any previous season at Liverpool. Then there are the absences at full-back, some of which remain ongoing.

It’s a similar story at the heart of the rearguard. Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are the first-choice and most used centre-back pairing this season – they will be expected to line-up at Brentford with Van Dijk making his 250th appearance for the club – even if their alliance hasn’t been as regular as may have been expected. Of 37 games, they have started together on only 14 occasions. Van Dijk and Joel Matip are next with seven appearances together and had become the preferred selection on merit until Matip’s season was ended in early December.

Konate and Jarell Quansah have been paired on six occasions, all in cup competitions. Then comes Van Dijk and Quansah with five and Matip and Quansah with three. Joe Gomez’s only two starts at centre-back this season have come alongside Matip.

That constant changing, and the injuries that have forced a seeming roulette of personnel for Klopp since the turn of the year, has started to have a negative impact. Since beating Brentford 3-0 at Anfield in mid-November, Liverpool have kept only six clean sheets in 19 games. Curiously, four of those have come away from home, in Premier League wins at Sheffield United, Burnley and Bournemouth, along with the FA Cup third round win at Arsenal.

But it means little without context. And for comparison, in the same period Manchester City have also had six shutouts. Arsenal have played only 15 games in that time and have had five clean sheets. Liverpool’s recent record at stopping the opposition scoring is no different to their main rivals.

And, in terms of Premier League clean sheets, only Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has managed more than Alisson Becker this season, albeit from having played more games. In terms of average number of goals conceded per appearance, Alisson is the best in the top flight at present. However, his latest injury means he won’t have a chance to improve on that tally today.

Beyond debate, though, is the fact whoever lines up for Liverpool this afternoon will know they have been in a game. Brentford, with Ivan Toney back and a number of key players also returning, have improved markedly in recent weeks and, having bagged six goals in two games at home to Liverpool in the Premier League, will enter the game with confidence.

Both Arsenal and, more recently, City won at Brentford. Securing a hat-trick for the Premier League’s top three would be another statement in a season of many for Liverpool. And the defence will be key to that.