Three things we learnt from Southampton’s heroic EFL Cup victory over Liverpool

Add as preferred source on Google

Liverpool’s lack of squad depth is beginning to show

Jurgen Klopp put all his eggs in one basket when he named his starting eleven yesterday evening. He put his best side on the pitch and left himself short of options on the bench if the game wasn’t going to plan. Jamie Carragher has stated that Liverpool have the sixth best squad in the league and he is probably correct. There was nobody on the bench that could come on and change the game. Daniel Sturridge is normally that man, but he was in the starting eleven. It has been a great achievement for Klopp to keep Liverpool in the top four of the Premier League since the season began, but cracks are now appearing.

Divock Origi and Gini Wijnaldum were the two substitutes that were called upon, but neither will have scared the Southampton defence. The other options were Ragnar Klavan, Lucas Leiva, Alberto Moreno and Ben Woodburn. It isn’t a bench of a Champions League side and if Liverpool are going to develop into one under Klopp, they will need to create real competition for places. Klopp may be damaged by his early over-achievement in the long run, as Reds fans may expect a top four finish. It is well within their grasp, but that is only due to the quality of Klopp as a coach. This is the first bump in the road for Klopp this season and it will be fascinating to see how he deals with it. The return of Sadio Mane can’t come soon enough.

Featured image: All rights reserved by thuutranthanh1