Liverpool legend John Aldridge has told Jurgen Klopp not to start Adam Lallana and Naby Keita in midfield again until they are up to speed.
An injury crisis saw the pair feature in the Reds recent Premier League outing against West Ham that ultimately saw Klopp’s men drop two points.
How difficult has this season been for Lallana and Keita? Four things to know…
- Keita joined Liverpool last summer from Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig a year after penning his deal.
- However, the Guinean international has found it hard to cement a regular place in the Liverpool team, having started in 11 of the Reds’ opening 25 league outings.
- Meanwhile, Lallana has been dogged by injuries since the backend of the 2016/17 season.
- His start against West Ham was Lallana’s first since October 2018 and ninth overall league appearance this season.
- And John Aldridge believes neither should start for Liverpool again until they are up to speed.
Lallana, starting in his first league game since Liverpool’s comfortable win over Cardiff City (4-1) in October 2018, nevertheless played a key role in Sadio Mane’s opener.
Renowned for his intelligent footwork the former Southampton captain, surrounded by a couple of West Ham defenders, would feed James Milner – albeit in an offside position – to tee up the Senegalese forward.
However, that piece of ingenuity was a rare moment as Lallana would struggle before going off in the 69th minute. As for Keita, much heralded prior to joining Liverpool, it was another subdued performance.
Aldridge, a league champion with the Reds, after watching the game (and seeing the Hammers equalise through Michail Antonio following a well-crafted free-kick) feels Klopp can ill-afford to start both together again.
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“Klopp’s side dropped more points at West Ham, but a bigger issue for me in both games has been the performance or lack of it from Liverpool’s midfielders,” he wrote in the Irish Independent.
“[Mohamed] Salah, Mane and [Roberto] Firmino will give you a cutting edge if the balance of the team is right, but the players sitting behind them at West Ham failed to produce the goods and it cost Liverpool.
“I know Klopp was forced into changes due to injuries, but Adam Lallana and Naby Keita cannot play together in midfield again, as they are just not up to the job for a title-winning team.
“My first impressions of Lallana when he came to Liverpool were not positive and while he proved me wrong to an extent with some good performances before his recent injury problems, it looks like he is struggling to get back to those levels once again after so long in the treatment room.
“As for Keita, he has not settled at Liverpool and has failed to deliver the performances we were expecting from him, with Klopp and his coaching staff fighting to get him up to speed and still waiting to see if he will be good enough to play in this team.”
The pressure is on
Liverpool go into matchday 26 trailing Premier League leaders and defending champions Manchester City by goal-difference, however they do have a game in hand.
Klopp’s men could have stretched their lead to seven points following City’s shock defeat at Newcastle United but they were held to a 1-1 draw to Leicester City at home.
Dropping five points across their last five league outings has allowed Tottenham Hotspur, now five points behind, into the championship picture.
Next up for the Reds is a home game against Bournemouth before travelling to Old Trafford to face a resurgent Manchester United.
The post Klopp urged not to field Lallana-Keita Liverpool midfield again appeared first on Squawka News.
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