No time to waste after Liverpool's poor start

LONDON • Three months ago, Liverpool stood on the brink of an unprecedented quadruple of trophies.

Three games into the new English Premier League season, they have yet to win a game.

Liverpool's worst start in a decade has left the Reds already trailing defending champions Manchester City by five points and early leaders Arsenal by seven.

"It's not the nicest thing to look at, that's clear," said manager Jurgen Klopp on his Merseyside outfit slipping to 16th.

There are, of course, 35 top-flight fixtures to go and things can easily change.

But there have been signs Liverpool are no longer functioning like the well-oiled machine seen over the past few seasons.

They have now conceded first in their last seven Premier League games stretching back to the end of last season, while Virgil van Dijk, long considered the best centre-back in England, has also endured a shaky start to the new campaign,

In their opening 2-2 draw against Fulham, the Netherlands captain was bullied by Aleksandar Mitrovic, with the striker scoring a double.

Van Dijk was also on the receiving end of a telling off from James Milner for his role in giving Jadon Sancho the space to slot home United's opening goal.

Trent Alexander-Arnold's defensive positioning is another area that is increasingly being targeted by the opposition.

Following on from Real Madrid's winner in last season's Champions League final to the Fulham game, it was another attack down Liverpool's right-hand side that allowed Sancho to fire home.

Up front, the loss of Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich is hitting hard, with Roberto Firmino looking a spent force as he deputised for the suspended Darwin Nunez at United.

Despite Mohamed Salah's goals, it can be argued Senegal forward Mane was Liverpool's most important attacker as he led the press for the team and he is revelling in life in Germany with four goals in as many competitive appearances.

Some new signings would definitely help to freshen up the squad.

Klopp has spent the last few weeks insisting there is no need to dip into the transfer market despite their growing absentee list that saw a host of players, including Diogo Jota, Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita, Joel Matip and Nunez miss Monday's 2-1 loss to United.

However, the German has now admitted a new arrival would be welcomed by him but he cannot move as freely in the market as he would like.

"When (everyone is) fit, 100 per cent (we have a good enough team), but even then we always look to strengthen, but... it must be the right player and if the right player is not available at this moment, then we tend to deal with what we have rather than sign a player who is not 100 per cent right.

"Then there is also another fact that I am not in charge of what we can spend. That's the situation."

A first defeat in 31 competitive games in domestic football stretching back to December is no time for panic. But over the past five years, an excess of 90 points is now needed to be crowned champions.

To reach those heights again, Klopp's men have no time to waste in awakening from their early-season slumber.

"We're giving every team a goal start, we can't keep giving ourselves an uphill battle," said defender Andy Robertson. "Two points from nine is not the start we wanted. We need to pick up our performances individually and collectively."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE