Klopp Drops First Game

Don't let the headline fool you.  There is little blame to be had by the Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, here.  If any blame would be on him, it would be the lack of team rotation after naming a strong squad for the midweek Europa contest against Rubin Kazan.  However, it is understandable, despite the perception of that competition, at this point if Klopp believes they can get something out of that tournament then that's the decisions you have to make.

That said, supporters were right to expect better than they got on Sunday.  Unfortunately they would not get it.  Crystal Palace has been a large thorn in the side of the Reds recently, but they had only won twice previously at Anfield.  You can make that three now.  Palace came out flying right out of the gate.  Alan Pardew's squad were listed as a 4-4-2, but played much closer to a 4-2-4 to start the game.

Throwing caution to the wind, they threw all their efforts into the attack and were rewarded for it.  Yannick Bolasie put the Eagles up in the 21st minute after a poor clearance by Emre Can.  For his part, there wasn't a ton different Can could have done differently, but it is still expected for a professional to be able to handle it better.  Instead of booting it straight up the field, it sliced back across the box and then Bolasie made the Reds pay.

Following the goal, Liverpool seemed to wake up a bit.  They had good possession, made decent passes and were sparked on by the Anfield crowd.  All the work would pay off in the end, literally, when Coutinho put one in just before the half.  In the 42nd minute, the Brazilian finished off what was a solid play begun by Jordan Ibe.  Ibe took on his defender on the right wing, got the ball into the box and made a good cross.  The ball was flicked by Adam Lallana, just taking it out of the path of Chrisitan Benteke but set up a strong finish for Coutinho.

The only disappointing thing about the goal, despite it being the only one of the contest, is it continually gives people hope about Coutinho.  The man is immensely talented, but has not found that form and consistency that makes you really know he will be a constant performer and one to be feared by other squads.  As things stand right now, he is incredibly dangerous in possession but only scores enough to give that glimmer of hope that each time might be the one to spring him into stardom.

The second half would prove to be one of frustration.  Liverpool, by the end of the contest, had 2/3 of the possession but could make nothing of it.  They had the ball in the box several times.  They had several corner kick opportunities (14 in total).  They should have been able to do something due to the fact that Palace didn't set up shop.  Instead nothing came of it.

This has been a problem under Brendan Rodgers and continues under Klopp.  Choose what players you like and which you don't.  At the moment it doesn't matter because none perform with any consistency to really make you believe there will be any breakout this season.  There are far too many passes in close quarters instead of taking a chance to get one in.  Then, to counter that, players will try to shoot from 30 yards or more when the chances of scoring from that distance are minimal at best.

The strange thing about this game is that if it ended in a draw, there wasn't a ton to be negative about.  Yes there was the large number of possession without enough true chances, but it was something you could live with if you get at least a point.  When you don't get that point, everything becomes magnified and looks a lot worse.  Such was the case against Crystal Palace when long-time Liverpool fan, Scott Dann finished off a goal off a corner kick.

Dann was afforded two opportunities, further proving Liverpool's lack of set piece marking and defensive deficiencies.  That simply cannot happen.  It's one thing for Dann to win the initial headball, but then to get another crack after Simon Mingolet's save is a combination of luck on Dann's part and lack of defensive closure on Liverpool's.

In the end, it's a blip on the screen for Liverpool.  There was no way this team was going to go undefeated this season under Klopp.  This result was going to happen eventually.  What's disappointing is the performances of the individuals.  The lack of that true finisher that you know will step up in those key moments is really starting to haunt this Liverpool squad.  We keep saying maybe when this happens or if that happens.  Right now it's looking like having a healthy Daniel Sturridge will never happen.  Someone else has to step into that role and quickly.

Random Thoughts:
- I mentioned everyone has the players they like and some they don't.  Adam Lallana is that player for me.  I want to like him because you can tell there is skill in there, but he simply doesn't do ANYTHING.  He has a few stepovers and some speed and then nothing.  It's gotten to the point that I cringe everytime I see his name in the team sheet even though there isn't a clear replacement.

- I fully expect Klopp to recall as many loans as he can.  Personally, I have no problem putting out strong teams for the Europa League, but eventually it will come back to haunt the team in the long run if they don't have enough players to make a decent rotation (especially with the busy Christmas schedule approaching).