Did January have many positives for Liverpool?

Areas of Improvement:

The set-piece defending has been much talked about in the press and by Klopp himself. Reserve goalkeeper Adam Bogdan effectively threw away his Liverpool career after he conceded a goal straight from Exeter’s corner. Arsenal’s Oliver Giroud took advantage of slack marking to equalise for the Gunners at Anfield, while Manchester United stole an unlikely victory after a short corner led to Wayne Rooney’s winner.

Even as Klopp tried to get his side to man-mark at Norwich, the Reds conceded all four goals from second balls. At least the last two games of the month saw no goals conceded from a set-piece. Much work is still to be done if the Reds are to rid of their bad habits.

As with defending set-pieces, goal-scoring has been a problem as well. The Reds failed to score during both games against West Ham, as well as against United and in the second leg versus Stoke. Aside from the goal fest against Arsenal and Norwich, Klopp’s men have struggled to finish off their chances, with his side guilty of several missed opportunities against United. Klopp will hope the impending return of Coutinho and recent form of Firmino will help the Reds bag more in February.

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Grade: C+

It has been a difficult month, with two games every week for the entirety of January. Injuries have started subsiding, with the ever-absent Daniel Sturridge just returning from injury, but the lack of goals from midfield has cost Liverpool some valuable points, with the Reds now further behind fourth place Manchester City. The aim for February will really be to leapfrog West Ham and get as close as possible to United, and perhaps Spurs. But the main goal will of course be at the end of the month, when the Reds return to Wembley after a long four years.

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Did January have many positives for Liverpool?