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'Are they doing enough?' | No sympathy for Liverpool's benched defenders

Beaten by Southampton on Monday night, David Meyler joined Tuesday's OTB AM to discuss Liverpool ...



'Are they doing enough?' | No...
Soccer

'Are they doing enough?' | No sympathy for Liverpool's benched defenders

Beaten by Southampton on Monday night, David Meyler joined Tuesday's OTB AM to discuss Liverpool and the urgency of their defensive issues. 

In the aftermath of Liverpool's 1-0 defeat to Southampton on Monday night, Jamie Carragher in the Sky Sports studio insisted that Jurgen Klopp - as much as it is in his hands - had a decision to make.

With Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all absent through injury, he argued that Liverpool must sign another central defender in the transfer window if they hope to retain the Premier League title.

On a disappointing night, the urgency of Carragher's comments came after Klopp decided to start Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, two midfield players, as his central defensive pairing.

"I wouldn't usually say this but I think Jurgen Klopp got it wrong," David Meyler suggested when he joined OTB AM to assess the performance. "Playing Jordan Henderson at centre-back, he was massively missed in midfield."

Beyond the well-worked goal Southampton's Danny Ings scored early on, Liverpool were not overly troubled defensively. Yet, as a springboard for all they do going forward, the midfield trio of Wijnaldum, Thiago and Oxlade-Chamberlain lacked the attacking fluency that the more familiar Henderson enables.

So, with two central defenders in Nathaniel Phillips (23) and Rhys Williams (19) on the Liverpool bench last night, why didn't Jurgen Klopp opt to play his captain in that more familiar midfield role when it was entirely possible to do so?

Sporadically selected by Jurgen Klopp at various points this season, both Phillips and Williams featured in the Liverpool first team most recently against Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion, respectively.

Understandably low down on the pecking order when all defenders are available to Klopp, Meyler nevertheless addressed why the German appeared reluctant to use either man against Southampton.

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"'Am I doing enough?'", responded Meyler to the question of what both Phillips and Williams could be thinking after seeing two midfielders selected ahead of them.

"If you look at Phillips' performance against Newcastle, you know, he is a big, tall centre-half who is good in the air but Liverpool are going to dominate possession and I think his distribution was quite poor in that game.

"Of course, we don't see them then [during the week] in training or what they're doing so, I think, [if I was them] I would be looking at myself first and foremost.

"When you've got someone of Henderson's experience then slotting back in, yes he's a midfielder but he's been captain of the club and I wouldn't be getting too down-hearted."

Liverpool

Top of the Premier League table by virtue of goal difference, should Manchester United win their game-in-hand against Burnley it would knock Liverpool off that perch.

Although there's a significant portion of the season left to play, the former Republic of Ireland international Meyler ultimately believes that some defensive reinforcement will be required.

"I think if Jurgen is going to sign a centre-half then he will probably try to sign a 21, 22-year-old who has experience of playing in the Premier League or a top league in Europe," he reasoned.

"It will be interesting to see what he does, but I definitely do think they need to sign a centre-half."

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David Meyler Jurgen Klopp Liverpool Premier League Southampton