Holding steady in third place and unbeaten in their last seven going in to the meeting with Crystal Palace on Sunday, it was looking like Liverpool were on course to securing a spot in next season’s Champions League until the Eagles snapped their streak to blow the race for a top four spot wide open and send the stakes on all the best betting apps sky high.
“It’s not easy to put it down to a couple of things, but we have to work together as a team,” said Reds defender Ragnar Klavan, issuing a rallying cry ahead of the trip to Watford next week. “That’s our goal, of course, to not concede any goals in any game, but this is football and everybody has good strikers as well,” mused the Estonian, knowing full well that their frailty at the back has caused them more than their fair share of problems this year. “It’s not so easy to pinpoint exactly what is going on.”
That, of course, is a matter of opinion; pushed high up the pitch and playing the kind of high velocity football that Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is known for, the Reds remain extremely vulnerable on the counter-attack and the Eagles were able to take full advantage with former Anfield striker Christian Benteke turning home Yohan Cabaye’s cross home to claim his first of the day and cancel out Philippe Coutinho’s sublime opener. If it’s not a quickly sprung attack that’s causing them woes, it’s set pieces and the big Belgian put an exclamation point on those concerns when he headed past compatriot Simon Mignolet to resign their hosts to their 6th Premier League loss of the season.
“I think it’s not just one thing, there are multiple things put together that make the whole difference,” explained Klavan, speaking to the club’s official website. “At this level, it can be one moment, just a lack of concentration, and that’s it,” added the veteran defender, trying to sort out just what went wrong. “In this harsh league, those things get punished straight away and that’s how it is when you play at the highest level.”
