Virgil Van Dijk Has Left A Giant Hole’ FIVE Things We Learned As Liverpool Lose 3-1 Go Lyon

Virgil Van Dijk Has Left A Giant Hole’ FIVE Things We Learned As Liverpool Lose 3-1 Go Lyon

The French side came from behind to win 3-1 – before sealing a bonus point on penalties – after Liverpool took the lead within 42 seconds in the Dubai Super Cup, with Mo Salah missing a penalty early on.

Jurgen Klopp will leave the Al-Maktoum Stadium with plenty on his mind after a disappointing collapse from his side, but there were still some players to put their hands up and catch his attention. Here are the five things we learned from Liverpool’s loss to Lyon on Sunday in Dubai.

Jurgen Klopp will not have been pleased with the 3-1 defeat but there were still some positives

Roberto Firmino bounces back from Brazil snub

Roberto Firmino was never an out-and-out goalscorer, even in his heyday for Liverpool, but what he does bring is flair, energy and brilliant feet – three things he had in abundance against Lyon.

The Brazilian was left out of Tite’s 26-man squad but showed Jurgen Klopp why he deserves more minutes this season as he worked tirelessly alongside an oddly-wasteful Mohamed Salah up top.

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Firmino showed that he still possesses quality and an almost genius-level intellect when it comes to threading the needle on the edge of the box, and in a Liverpool side fully match-fit in the middle of the season he could have had two or three assists.

As it was, his vibrant attacking play went unrewarded but he will have given plenty for Klopp to think about, with Darwin Nunez set to return from an ineffective World Cup campaign with Uruguay.

He may not have got a goal or assist on Sunday but Roberto Firmino was vibrant up front

Virgil van Dijk’s absence has left a giant hole

Sunday’s friendly loss in Dubai will have given Liverpool fans shivers as they caught a glimpse of what life was like before Virgil van Dijk’s arrival, with the Reds guilty of poor defending on three occasions as they let slip a one-goal lead.

Joel Matip and Joe Gomez are solid defenders in their own right, but neither came close to commanding the authority and fear that the Dutch skipper demands, and there was an evident absence of control at the heart of the defence.

Gomez looked susceptible when run at, particularly by Moussa Dembele in the 35th minute, with the far-from-rapid Frenchman causing the English defender all sorts of bother, turning him inside and out before unleashing a tame strike on goal.

Virgil van Dijk’s concentration and composure in defence was notably absent on Sunday

Much of Van Dijk’s power comes from the fear and doubt he puts in attackers’ hearts, and it was clear that neither Dembele nor Alexandre Lacazette had an ounce of trepidation when facing Matip and Gomez in the first half.

Andy Robertson and Caoimhin Kelleher were at fault for the Lyon goal, make no mistakes, but it is hard to imagine such a slip-up would have happened had Van Dijk been on the pitch to either clear up or set a frighteningly high standard of concentration for his defensive colleagues.

Jude Bellingham would have a field day in this Liverpool midfield

It’s no secret – everyone wants Jude Bellingham, and why would they not? The English midfielder has shown most recently in Qatar what a brilliant player he is, but what Liverpool most need is a line-breaking box-to-box midfielder.

Thiago Alcantara was brilliant in the first half, and his effortless range of passing was put to good use, particularly in the 20th minute when he sent a gorgeously raking long ball towards Mohamed Salah.

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But Salah and Roberto Firmino both seemed stranded at times at the top of the pitch, with Thiago staying deep to spray passes out and Stefan Bajcetic holding down the fort in front of the defence.

Bellingham’s incessant energy and absurd composure on the ball would fit into this Liverpool system perfectly, with an absence of progressive intent forthcoming against Lyon, in a game that saw clear daylight between the midfield and attack.

Jude Bellingham’s energy and ability to break the lines is a perfect fit for this Liverpool side

Reds still need cover for Trent Alexander-Arnold

Trent Alexander-Arnold is brilliant, but nobody stays fit for an entire season, and Liverpool look to be in trouble if the England full-back suffers a serious injury with only James Milner and Calvin Ramsay available.

James Milner struggled at right-back

The former is tireless in his work-rate, gritty in the challenge and a leader on the pitch – but Milner is 37 in January, and cannot do the things that Alexander-Arnold can in the final third.

Calvin Ramsay was brought in to provide back-up at right-back, but from what he has shown – which is admittedly little in his two first-team appearances – he is not up to the standard that Klopp will need him to be should calamity strike.

Ramsay’s miss in the penalty shoot-out is irrelevant. Misses from the spot can happen to anyone – just ask the prolific Harry Kane – but it was his defensive work that stood out, with the Scot notably yards away from where he should be at the back post for Bradley Barcola’s strike in the 65th minute.

It is not in defence where Alexander-Arnold excels, but the right-hand side was an increasingly profitable hunting ground for Lyon after Milner left the field, and Ramsay will want to seize the next opportunity he is handed with a firmer grasp than he did on Sunday.

Calvin Ramsay’s poor defending was one of the reasons for Lyon’s second goal on the night

Thiago Alcantara is cruising ahead of the restart

The Spanish Rolls-Royce was left out of Luis Enrique’s World Cup squad, but he showed Jurgen Klopp why he is a two-time Champions League and Club World Cup winner against Lyon.

Alcantara displayed his dazzling array of passing – with pinpoint accuracy – in his 61-minute display on Sunday and caused havoc for a Lyon defence that continually struggled with long balls in the friendly encounter.

One pass stood out though. The Spaniard received the ball on the turn in his own half, fronted up by two defenders, but rather than simply pop the ball off to a defender of his own or square it out wide, Alcantara played a sumptuous long ball with his right foot with a potent mix of back-spin and curve out to the right. Salah received the ball in exactly the position he wanted it, needless to day.

Thiago Alcantara cruised at the heart of Liverpool’s midfield and showed his expansive range of passing

Alcantara is not a midfielder that wins games by breaking the lines, by making goal-saving challenges, or even screening the defensive line. He is a midfielder that wins games by spotting the passes that no other player can and executing them with lethal precision.

His acrobatic jumping back-heeled one-two on the edge of his own box under heavy pressure was not bad either.