Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore has said Liverpool have “no chance” in the Champions League unless they sign some new defenders.
They got off to a stuttering start in the Champions League on Wednesday night at Anfield.
After falling behind to Sevilla, they reversed things and took a 2-1 lead before Roberto Firmino missed a penalty that would have secured the three points.
Instead, Sevilla found an equaliser in the 72nd minute and Liverpool couldn’t find a response.
With a tricky away tie at Spartak Moscow next, Jurgen Klopp knows that progressing from a relatively easy group has just got that much harder.
And most of the criticism from fans and pundits centred on their defensive frailties.
Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore rated the chances of three English teams in the Champions League, Tottenham, Man City and Liverpool, and of the three he wrote off the Reds with their current defenders.
#THFC encouraging, confident. 7/10#MCFC, Proof #NED club football is 3rd rate. 7/10#LFC, no chance in CL without grade A defenders. 6/10
— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) September 13, 2017
When questioned about his scoring system, he upgraded Tottenham and Man City to 7.5/10 and downgraded Liverpool to 5.5/10.
Happy to upgrade #THFC to 7.5, #MCFC to 7.5 and #LFC 5.5. All opposition relevant.
None of the opposition will bother quarters onwards. https://t.co/T7lvY8TlFH
— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) September 13, 2017
OPINION
Liverpool should have picked up all three points last night, and but for a missed penalty from Firmino they would have done. With three points and a 3-1 scoreline, would Collymore’s assessment have been different? And would fans have celebrated the win rather than look at Lovren’s performance at the back? That’s the fine margins that we’re dealing with at this level of football. However, Collymore does have a point in that if Liverpool have a weakness, it’s at the back. Klopp said he was happy with his defence at the end of the summer window, but he’s obviously watching a different team to the majority of fans. They will be hoping that he revisits a move for Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk in January.