‘It’s simple enough’ – Kenny Cunningham on the reasons for Liverpool’s decline

Virgil van Dijk and Fabinho were singled out for their below-par performances this season.

In the second episode of our new podcast House of Football, former Ireland centre-half Kenny Cunningham discussed the topic of Liverpool's calamitous season. The Reds have been a shadow of their former selves this season, as Jurgen Klopp's previously rampaging side languishes in eighth place, eight points off the top four. With Liverpool still managing to have scored the fifth most goals in the division, it has been their defence which has ultimately been the Merseyside club's Achilles heel. Having already conceded 33 goals with 11 games still to play, Jurgen Klopp's side are far in excess of their 26 goals against over the entirety of last season. Speaking as to the reasoning behind the Reds' leaky defence, the 72-time-capped Irish international stated; "I think it's simple enough, to be honest with you. They'd physically impose themselves, they'd get after you, they'd press you, high intensity runs from the first minute to the last and not let you breathe. But they've come off that". "Defenders are getting more exposed than they've ever been. "Individually, players are having to work harder and defend one v one situations on the edge of their box", said the former Millwall and Birmingham City centre half. In terms of those players who have dropped off to the greatest extent this season, Cunningham referenced both Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander Arnold as two who have been far below their previous lofty bests. "We are also seeing some of the limitations some of those players have, in particular Trent Alexander Arnold, where we see how poor he can be at times in terms of his defending. Virgil van Dijk was almost impenetrable for a period of time there, but you can see the number of mistakes he's made and for me, he's been a little bit loose". Diving deeper in depth on the performances of Van Dijk, Cunningham discussed the potential impact of the Dutch defender's serious knee injury which he sustained during the 2020 season. After the most recent International break, Van Dijk described his own disappointing form as being down to "tiredness". However, Cunningham didn't quite buy the Liverpool defender's line. "For me, some of the mistakes he makes, tiredness doesn't come into it. It's a mental thing for me with van Dijk, he's got that arrogance, that confidence, and to be fair to him he can and has backed it up for a long period of time. "When it comes to the rudimentary work of defending, the very basics that we talk about, he's always been a little bit loose for me. "At his best, he was an absolute Rolls Royce... but I don't quite see the rapid acceleration that I've seen before." https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/1643956575717974018 Despite the below-par displays produced by the defensive duo of van Dijk and Alexander Arnold, Cunningham believes that Liverpool's main area of concern regarding defence lies elsewhere. With an ageing midfield that the Liverpool hierarchy have failed to adequately replace, Jurgen Klopp has been left relying heavily on a nearly 33-year-old Jordan Henderson and an out-of-sorts Fabinho. It is this midfield conundrum which Cunningham sees as being the root of Liverpool's defensive mishaps, with him stating that: On club captain and England international Henderson, Cunningham added that: "Henderson's legs have dropped off and Fabinho has never been the quickest. Fabinho was really an interceptor but he's now having to cover bigger distances, cover 15, 20, 25 yards and now people are looking at him thinking he's not moving great. Whether Klopp can be the man to rectify Liverpool's dramatic changing of fortunes remains to be seen, with the Anfield club having lost 4-1 away to old foes Manchester City last weekend in what was a dispiriting display. Despite all the talk of worry and woe though, Klopp's side does, however, head into their final 11 games with an outside chance of securing a top-four place. Should the Champions League-winning manager somehow secure a place in Europe's premier footballing competition for next season, it will make his summer rebuild all the easier.