Start with the obvious: the result was frustrating, and a particularly poor one in the context in the race for top-four. Games at home and where you dominate as well as enjoy quite a few good chances are games that you need to put away and get points on the board, particularly this early in the season. Once the top teams peel away it's a bit more of a challenge mentally to keep up.
Indeed, LFC were lucky towards the end to get away with a point as our "corner voodoo" nearly struck again. On another day, another team might have scored one of those chances, and the LFC would have had a much more negative narrative to deal with. (Of course it needn’t be pointed out that Burnley were also pretty lucky that we were less than clinical on most occasions, with the exception of Salah’s goal.) Then there's the glaring (and by now rather tripe) defensive error which gifted Burnley a goal on their first real attack. Come on, at least make them work for it. Or at least it has to be some rather spectacular goal like Burnley's second against Chelsea on opening day.
Having said that, I think there’s evidence of progress in one important aspect. Last season, one serious problem when playing against well-organised and more defensive-oriented teams was that Pool frequently failed to get any penetration behind defensive lines. We ended up passing sideways or punting hopeful long balls with little incision. Most of the time that resulted in some awry shot from outside the box or a pass that's easily cut out.
In contrast, this has not been the case so far against Burnley, Palace or Watford. We appear to be better able to get into good positions behind well-organised lines, mostly on the flanks. This seems down to the likes of Salah (and Mané) being able to stretch the other side and create space, but today it was Coutinho too who helped with his dribbling. That seems like relatively good progress to me.
The problem is that the finishing and decision-making haven’t been optimal. The forwards, of which Salah is culpable as well, haven’t been as ruthless as they need to be. In that regard Mané’s presence was missed. Couts still seemed rusty, as did Sturridge. The latter had in the past scored from positions less promising than some of those he found himself in today.
Firmino’s starting position meant that he was hardly in areas he would have occupied as the lone striker/false 9, and his influence was barely felt today. This is not a new issue at all, and I think it compromises the team as a whole as it usually means there is a less effectual player on the flank. If Klopp chooses to start with Sturridge or Solanke, he might think about either resting Firmino or starting a more natural flanking player like Oxlade-Chamberlain or even Milner (whose best performances for City have come on the flanks) and putting Firmino in the no. 10 or no. 8 position.
I thought that Solanke actually seemed the sharpest of the bunch and maybe we would have benefited had he been brought on earlier. He seemed driven, quick and blessed with good positional sense.
In games against the likes of Burnley, it might be interesting to experiment with a traditional striking partnership (of which it seems to be that Sturridge/Solanke or Ings is the natural fit) with the intention of maximising striking efficiency. The premise is that strikers tend to be more clinical in front and goal and are better able to strike in a wider variety of situations, such as headers or from just outside the box or positionally being better able to react to saves or blocks. Width can be still be provided by a roving no. 10 of the likes of Mané or Salah. This might be an option especially in cases when one of the pair of Mané/Salah isn't available.
The lack of finishing isn’t a new issue and hopefully will diminish as the season goes on as players get sharper. Sometimes you also need the rub of the green, and we haven’t really had that all week, or indeed much this season. The contrast with City is palpable: a rather lucky equaliser against Everton when down to ten men, then a winning goal against Bournemouth that came more than two minutes after the five minutes added on had been exhausted, then benefiting from a controversial sending off against Pool when the game was still in the balance. Now, as evident from the Watford game, their confidence is high and the team is clicking into gear. On the other hand, Pool conceded a last-minute offside (amongst other issues, such as pushing the keeper) goal against Watford, had its best player sent off against City and unavailable for three games, as well as suffering rather bad brain farts in front of goal against both Sevilla and Burnley. The only thing to do is to keep grinding on and work to change those fortunes.
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