Liverpool has lots of work to do to be genuine title challengers

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers will know that his team will have to improve their performances if they are to be genuine title contenders this season

Liverpool suffered their second defeat in their opening four Premier League games yesterday, as Aston Villa came to Anfield and claimed a 1-0 win courtesy of a Gabriel Agbonlahor goal.

In truth the Reds performance was a poor one.

Credit

First of all you have to give massive credit to the whole Villa side for defending so well against Liverpool, who completely controlled the game at times.

It was even more impressive considering the Villans were missing captain and star centre-back Ron Vlaar.

To be fair to Villa they looked relatively comfortable for much of the game and dangerous on the counter-attack.

Villa are now unbeaten at Anfield in four games, which has not happened in their history.

Liverpool mustered just one shot on target in the game and that will be concerning for everybody connected with the Reds. The lack of spark will certainly be a concern for Reds boss Brendan Rodgers.

New

The team that Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers picked yesterday contained six summer signings and no Raheem Sterling. That amount of changes is going to have an effect on the fluency of any team and that showed yesterday.

The likes of Lazar Markovic and Adam Lallana were making their full Liverpool debuts and will need time to settle into their new team. No doubt both players have talent, but have had injuries during the summer, which have obviously not helped them become accustomed to their new surroundings.

There were big changes at Anfield this summer with star striker Luis Suarez leaving for Barcelona and a raft of new players arriving at the club. Some have made comparisons with Tottenham last summer after they sold Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, but it is too early for Liverpool to panic just yet.

Missed

Without a doubt Liverpool’s two best attacking players Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling were missed in yesterday’s clash. Sturridge’s absence was an enforced one, as the striker had picked-up an injury on international duty with England.

However, Brendan Rodgers decision to rest England starlet Raheem Sterling for the game slightly backfired. The Reds lacked the spark that the 19-year-old provides in the final third and seemed to struggle for creativity in his absence.

Even without Sterling Liverpool still would have expected to pick-up a result against Villa, despite the side from the Midlands having made a good start to their Premier League campaign.

Liverpool should not have to rely on a teenager to win them points though. When Lallana and Markovic are settled and fully match fit both players should make a bigger contribution to the team this season, as both are creative players.

Defence

Last season Liverpool’s defensive deficiency’s arguably cost them the Premier League title. While they were brilliant going forward, they were sieve like at the back. The Reds defence just never looked secure.

Brendan Rodgers moved to fix that by bringing in Dejan Lovren, Alberto Moreno and Javier Manquillo. All three started against Villa and at times they looked very vulnerable, especially from corner kicks.

Spanish pair Moreno and Manquillo are both highly-rated youngsters, but they lack experience in the English top-flight. They also need time to settle into the culture and become accustomed to the league.

Moreno in particular has enjoyed mixed fortunes so far in his Reds career. He looked out of his depth against Manchester City, before producing a swashbuckling performance in the Reds 3-0 victory at Tottenham, scoring a goal and proving a constant threat down Liverpool’s left flank.

Lovren was brought in to add solidity to the centre of the Liverpool defence. The Croatian international arrived at Southampton as a virtual unknown to most English football fans last summer, but helped a previous leaky backline become far more solid.

Rodgers will be hoping that once he has settled at the club he can achieve similar results at Anfield and help shore up that shaky Reds backline.

Early

It is very early in the season and players need time to settle, so it would be unfair to judge Liverpool just yet. However, the Reds will be handed harder tasks than the Villa game this season and whoever pulls on that red shirt has to produce better performances.

Are Liverpool genuine title contenders this season?