Liverpool were uninspiring in their 0-0 draw against Chelsea, the relentless red machine nowhere to be seen. Jurgen Klopp assessed it as a positive “little step.”
What we’re seeing is not the Liverpool team we have come to know, the one that lifts you off your seat and wills themselves to a victory.
The stalemate at Anfield lacked a cutting edge. Liverpool had just three shots on target – all easily saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
It was coupled with a long overdue clean sheet in the league – the first since October – but let’s not forget this was 9th vs. 10th.
Assessing the match as a “little step” is indicative of how far Liverpool have fallen this season. The Reds were at Anfield playing a midtable side, not a title contender.
“I thought we started well the first half and the second half, good spells but couldn’t keep it up,” Klopp said to BT Sport.
"We have to be ready for little steps, and this is a little step…"
Jürgen Klopp speaks following Liverpool's "hectic" draw with Chelsea.
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— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 21, 2023
“I said before the game we have to be ready for a little step, and this is a little step.
“We have a clean sheet against Chelsea, which is good. We didn’t create an awful lot of chances, but we had them.
“We defended in the second half a bit more with passion than with clear organisation because we were a bit too deep.
“In the end, 0-0, I’m okay with it for today because when I said before the game we have to be ready for these steps, you have to accept it as well.
“Everyone told me before the game it’s 9th vs. 10th, these kinds of games happen and it’s absolutely fine. We have to build on stuff.”
The same assessment was offered by James Milner, who acknowledge Liverpool were far too static and didn’t create enough passing options in the attacking phases.
“I thought we started pretty well. There’s things to work on but a clean sheet is a step in the right direction,” Milner said.
“When you’re in a tough period and a tough moment in the team, I think it’s important that you stick together, you see the fight, grit and determination for those clean sheets and that’s where it starts.
“It’s not the best football matches that we are ever playing but it’s small steps to get to where we can be.
“At times we could have made it easier for ourselves by maybe having an extra touch but also moving for each other a bit more.
“There weren’t too many options at times. That’s something we can work on.”
The draw means Liverpool remain without a Premier League win in 2023 and their next chance to change that is in February, as a trip to Brighton in the FA Cup awaits next week.
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