Liverpool Fans Already Losing Faith In The Team?

Liverpool’s EFL Cup semifinal second leg against Southampton on Wednesday is a match which may see the home side readjust ambitions after a thoroughly depressing 3-2 defeat to Swansea last weekend.

For weeks, many fans dismissed the cup matches, citing the importance of maintaining a challenge in the Premier League. The 1-0 EFL Cup first leg defeat at St Mary’s was wretched, bar a busy performance from goalkeeper Loris Karius keeping the scoreline respectable.

Even Plymouth in the FA Cup were more of an obstacle than they needed to be, though a side full of youngsters had the quite reasonable excuse of inexperience across two matches, eventually won 1-0 in a replay at Home Park.

Then Swansea, bottom of the league at kick off, came to Anfield and threw the cat among the pigeons. With a first-choice team and supposedly complete focus, the Reds embarrassed themselves with a lackadaisical performance bordering on complacency. The defeat demonstrated all their old defensive flaws, particularly when the ball was airborne. Liverpool had managed eight clean sheets in their previous 14 matches but this felt like old wounds painfully reopening.

The stands were almost equally complacent. Perhaps it was the early start but was more likely the lowly opposition which the fans expected the team to brush aside. Whatever and whoever was to blame, losing such a match seemed absurd at first but given time for the facts to sink in, it seemed inevitable. It may well mean a realignment of ambitions, with the cups becoming more important now that winning the Premier League looks a little far-fetched.

Chelsea could still be beaten in Liverpool’s next league match, reducing the current gap to seven points, but not many believe the Reds would suddenly be immune to the sort of woeful result that has brought them to this situation. There is a lack of trust in the team. Can they just suddenly turn it on in the cup games now that realistically represents Liverpool’s sole chance of silverware this season?

Emphasis on league position is still key after all and the Reds do have a reasonable run-in, although some may feel that’s more problematic than when they face the best teams.

They are trying to reach the EFL final, probably to face Manchester United, who are 2-0 up over Hull in their respective semifinal. The bitter rivalry will make that a greater battle than the trophy actually merits because neither club would want to lose face at Wembley.

Southampton need to be conquered first and Liverpool have to rediscover some of the scintillating football that got them near the top of the league in the first place to do that.

Their record in the tournament is a proud one, with eight triumphs and four other appearances in the final. The chase for silverware couldn’t simply be ignored, even had Liverpool won the recent league points they’ve squandered.

Though the least prestigious of the trophies available to English clubs, they all go towards the overall total and United have almost caught Liverpool in that particular race. A small consideration, yet one impossible to ignore whenever fans get together and argue over who is the greater club.

At Anfield on Wednesday, Klopp will at least get the heated atmosphere he keeps demanding but rarely ever gets. Something about Anfield under floodlights produces the kind of atmosphere older fans used to take for granted, and with Liverpool starting a goal down, it’s bound to be louder than the Swansea game. It certainly couldn’t be quieter.

Southampton have kept clean sheets in both their matches with Liverpool this season but this is the first at Anfield. It seems unlikely they can make it three games without conceding, but it is also doubtful that Liverpool’s porous defence can’t be breached at some stage.

Joel Matip will make his long overdue return to the first team, important as much for his defending as for his talismanic record of never being on the losing side in a Liverpool shirt.

Further forward, numerous critics feel Klopp plays too many “water carriers” in midfield. They may see Adam Lallana drop back there, probably to replace the struggling Emre Can. That leaves an attacking role for Daniel Sturridge or Divock Origi, neither of whom have covered themselves in glory over recent weeks. This will be a chance for one of them to redeem himself.

That still presents a dilemma for the manager as his False No.9 Roberto Firmino scored two fine goals in a losing cause on Saturday and was the one shining light on a dismal afternoon. Pushing him back to the wing could rob Liverpool of the one real threat they’ve currently got, unless Philippe Coutinho can rediscover his pre-injury form immediately.

Liverpool’s January has so far been below average, threatening to make five months of excellent football irrelevant. A win over Southampton and another League Cup final appearance could go a long way to reviving the Reds’ fortunes at a vital stage of the season.