10 Things We Learned From The English Premier League Football Weekend (15-17 September 2017)

3. Klopp A Load Of Liverpool's Woes

Manchester City's Sergio Aguero celebrates scoring their fourth goal
Michael Sohn/dpa/Corbis

Liverpool's performance against Burnley was another misfire, this time a quite literal one.

The Reds were outmuscled and outfought for Scott Arfield's opener. Trent Alexander-Arnold compounded 'Pool's full-back deficit to allow Burnley the opening, triggering Graeme Souness into an apoplectic fit of rage. You can probably still hear the echoes of his fury rippling across the Mersey. The strike itself was no fault of the criticised Simon Mignolet. Curiously, Liverpool's leaky defence was otherwise absolved; Joel Matip in particular put forth a steely performance. He was superb - though the novelty of a good defensive Liverpool performance might count for the superlative. No, Liverpool only emerged with a point because, a drilled Mo Salah finish aside, they failed to translate their relentless attacking play into goals.

That the usual Liverpool criticism was subverted serves only to underscore that the problems are not limited to one area. There is no quick fix to elevate Liverpool into genuine title contenders - and at least one of those problems is veering into the territory of systemic failure.

Their pursuit of Virgil van Dijk was well-documented (and roundly criticised) - but no serious bids were made for a recognised no. 9. This fixture damned their recruitment policy yet further.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!