Liverpool proved unable to snap out of a run of poor results despite their usual excellent start to the game. Since this is only the League Cup, more damage has been wrought by the sense of malaise intensifying rather than actual harm imposed on LFC's medal prospects. It's still worrying, as the threat of getting caught in a slump - the worst kind is to be playing well and dominating games but not getting any points - is a clear and present danger.
The result was downright deflating after an upbeat, incisive first half (albeit without the requisite finishing). If anything, one takeaway from the game is that Klopp's imprint on the team is very clear: he’s able to get a Pool reserve team to implement his ideas and play some pretty football.
The goals we conceded seemed to be the usual goof-offs. The first was partly our usual corner voodoo combined with a failure to deal with second balls; the second was a now more confident Leicester deciding to have a go for one of the few times in the game. And of course the “score against Pool with your first decent effort” is pretty axiomatic by now. What's frustrating is that teams don't seem to have to play particularly well to score against LFC, while we have to perform near optimal standards in order to get any joy in front of goal.
But it’s also the case today that we didn’t really test the Leicester keeper enough – we hardly had any clear cut chances. I think, as in the Burnley game, a sign of progress is that we are getting better penetration, but in this case the clear cut chances were paltry. Solanke sparkled but didn’t put away the half chances he had; Oxlade-Chamberlain had the best opening but his shot got deflected.
Still it was a relatively good run-out for the squad players. While promising, Grujic seemed nervous (and it usually seems to materialise in over-aggression) and not trusting enough of himself. Ox proved why he still can’t play central midfield at the moment, though he gave some good moments from the flanks. The rest of the youngsters - Gomez, Flanno, and Robertson (who has enough top-flight experience to not be considered a youngster) did pretty decent jobs. Two stood out: Solanke was eye catching, with great movement and an adroit use of physicality - a touch more sharpness and experience and he would have opened his account for the club. And Woodburn looked like a seasoned pro rather than a 17 year old: great mindfulness on the ball and skill in holding it up. He also almost got a sensational goal towards the end.
While there’s little end product from these prospects at the moment, the hard truth is that they need games to learn and progress. Hopefully they learn more from defeats than from victories that may paper over flaws. Of the youngsters that were similarly tested last season in non-league games, the likes of Woodburn, Trent and Gomez did well enough to be on the precipice of a first-team place now. Unfortunately today's result has lessened the number of games they’re going to get for their development.
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