Liverpool, in keeping with their marauding form off-late, managed to comfortably dispatch a hapless Derby County side by a comprehensive 3-0 scoreline to progress through to the 4th round of the EFL Cup.
Liverpool sealed their progress to the 4th round of the EFL Cup after a comfortable 3-0 success against Championship strugglers Derby County. It was yet another significant step forward for Jurgen Klopp’s Reds who seem to be developing a penchant for scoring goals. Although it is early days in the new campaign, the Reds have given their supporters much reason for optimism this season with their style of football and their competency.
When the fixture lists were rolled out in June, few would have thought that Liverpool, in the penultimate week of September, would sit in 6th spot with victories over Arsenal and Chelsea away and Leicester City at home, to go with a competitive draw against Tottenham at White Hart Lane. It was only a loss to newly promoted Burnley that has pegged the Reds back this season, and with two strong performances already in the EFL Cup, Klopp has reason to believe his side can go one better than last season and take home the trophy. TheHardTackle discusses some interesting talking points from Liverpool’s visit down to Derby County.
1. Loris Karius – A breath of fresh air for the Reds
The goalkeeping position has been an unsolved conundrum at Liverpool for a while now with reinforcements struggling to fill in the boots of some of the greats who graced their roles in between the posts at Anfield. However, if early visuals of Loris Karius were any evidence, the Reds may have just signed their best shot-stopper since Pepe Reina.
The German looked assured and calm on his competitive debut and showcased a good distribution of passes while also stretching himself to make the occasional save. However, a struggling Championship side in Derby may not be the most ideal litmus test of Karius’ abilities but the 23-year-old did enough to present a solid case for a start against Saturday’s visitors, Hull City.
Liverpool need not look further than their bitter rivals Manchester United to realize the importance of a goalkeeper. Having David De Gea in-goal has enabled an under-achieving United side to come away with so many more points than they would have hoped and even deserved. So having Karius in goal could be a significant step forward for the Reds who have lofty ambitions and dreams of securing silverware under Klopp.
2.”Brazilliance” at work once more for Reds
Firmino and Coutinho were at their mischief once more on Tuesday evening at the iPro stadium, with the duo forging an admirable partnership in attack to aid the Reds through to a comfortable victory. Coutinho exchanged a neat one-two with Firmino before he slotted the ball into the Derby net for Liverpool’s second.
Apart from that, there was a telepathic level of understanding between the two Brazilians throughout the game that made life just that much more miserable for the Championship team. The fact that the scoreline could have made for more embarrassing reading had they been more clinical in front of goal goes to show the influence the Samba boys had in the Reds’ convincing victory.
Together, the two attacking-midfielders have scored 6 goals and registered 4 assists between them in just 6 appearances so far for Liverpool which will come as an encouraging sign for Klopp as the season progresses.
3. Surprisingly effective Moreno
Since his shocker of a performance on the opening day of the Premier League season against Arsenal, Alberto Moreno has embarrassingly been preferred over James Milner for the left-back role. The much-maligned Spaniard often drifts astray while attacking and fails to track back and defend when his team needs bodies at the back, leaving his side of the park exposed. As a result, the 24-year-old has been subjected to a lot of criticism from all quarters including supporters, former players and pundits alike over the past few months.
However, Tuesday evening saw Moreno curb his attacking verve and take a more calculated and measured approach going forward while also subsequently doing well to fend off attacking threats in his area of the park. As mentioned earlier, an encounter against Derby is not the ideal litmus test at all to the Reds’ credentials and hence Moreno’s positive performance must not be looked upon with too much respect. Nevertheless, it was a step in the positive direction and if he can keep at it, he will soon make his way back to the Liverpool starting XI.
4. Irresistible Liverpool
One would have to date back to the 2013-14 campaign to pin-point the last time the Reds were as irresistible as they have been in the past few weeks. All of Klopp’s summer signings have come on and settled well into this Liverpool side and have taken to the German’s philosophy as well, showcasing a drive and desire to put in the work week-in and week-out.
The former Dortmund boss is definitely brewing something special at Anfield and if the Reds can maintain the level of intensity and consistency throughout the course of the season, the Merseysiders can indeed be a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League, and soon Europe.
Liverpool have looked different since that shocking loss at Burnley in the second week of the current Premier League campaign. Since that bitter result at Turf Moor, the Reds have notched 4 victories and a draw, slamming 15 goals in the process while conceding just three. Not many people would have expected the Reds to rack up 10 points out of their outings against Chelsea, Arsenal, Leicester City and Tottenham in a ludicrously difficult start to the season.
But with such high-profile victories behind them, Liverpool will have to work on finishing off the smaller teams in the Premier League if they are to harbour ambitions of finishing high up the Premier League table. There is a buzz around Anfield once more and as the Reds entertain Hull City in only their second home fixture so far this season, Klopp will be aware of the trials and tribulations of great expectations and it’s impact on the players. He will have to ensure the Reds keep their head in the game work towards making it, as he opined, a memorable season.