Just how poor were Liverpool in February?

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Highlights:

There weren’t too many highs in a month dominated by lows. Perhaps the 6-0 victory at Villa was the best point of February. Liverpool were unusually clinical at Villa Park, scoring with almost every shot on target. Sturridge returned to goalscoring form, while Philippe Coutinho was at his creative best.

Divock Origi returned from the bench and scored almost immediately, and even Toure got in on the act, scoring his first goal of his Liverpool career. So much for highlights.

Areas for Improvement:

Much has been made of Liverpool’s porous defence as well as the unpredictable goalkeeping of Simon Mignolet. However, the attention should now shift to Liverpool’s midfield. No doubt, the likes of James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Emre Can are hardworking, industrious and energetic, but they lack the creativity and drive needed to force the issue from midfield.

All three are too similar to one another, and one should be enough to the job of the three deployed by Klopp at the moment. Henderson has struggled to fill the creative void left by Gerrard, while Milner’s service; from wide areas in particular, is modest at best. Klopp may want to consider dropping one of the three, probably Milner but perhaps Henderson on current form, and bring Coutinho back into the midfield trio. This way, another attacking player could be added to the mix and give the Reds more firepower from deeper areas.

Grade: D

The effort was there for all to see, but it’s now beginning to be the case of the current batch lacking the required quality to compete at the highest level. Being nearly men in the league to Leicester, in the FA Cup to West Ham, and the League Cup to City is just not good enough for Klopp. Hopefully February will be the month where Klopp realises who he needs to dispense of.

The season has just about ended for the Reds, with only the slimmest of chances of the top four remaining and progression in the Europa League hanging in the balance, with a certain traditional rival to get past first.

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