Liverpool finally brought their losing streak to an end against Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday with a 5-1 win – but it’s only papering over the cracks for Roy Keane, who knows what their biggest issue is. And it’s already been highlighted by Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner.
Liverpool went on the rampage in the 5-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt, despite going a goal down against the German outfit in the Champions League, sparking fears of another loss.
The win stopped their four-game losing streak, having lost to Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Galatasaray and Manchester United over the course of the last month, with the three Premier League defeats all coming late on.
[
Click to subscribe to the podcast ](https://www.youtube.com/@BeyondTheBackFour?sub_confirmation=1)
However, despite taking three points in the Champions League, Arne Slot’s side have been leaky at the back in recent games, contributing to their poor form.
And Roy Keane has noticed that it’s their biggest issue, despite their prolific behaviour in attack.
Arne Slot managing Liverpool vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Roy Keane says Liverpool’s lack of goals in recent games has highlighted their defensive frailties
The Reds had conceded seven goals in four games prior to their visit to Germany. In fact, they have only kept two clean sheets so far this season in 1-0 win over Arsenal, and a last-gasp win for Liverpool at Burnley.
Whilst the Reds have also only failed to score in one game in all competitions, it’s seen them drop off the top of the Premier League table, and lose a crucial game in the Champions League.
Keane has pointed this out as a matter of urgency. He said on Stick to Football: “I think obviously the biggest problem is defensively. Going forward, there’s a goal threat.
“The lads are a little bit off, but they’ve come back and they’ve got quality. But defensively, and we started the start of the season going back to the Community Shield, they’re giving up chances. You’re going, yeah, but they’re scoring, they’re scoring.
“And now that’s dried up. They’re still giving up loads of chances, loads of goals even towards the end of last season. That’s the biggest issue.”
Liverpool will need to address that if they are to stop Arsenal or Manchester City racing away from them in the Premier League title race.
Roy Keane speaks before England vs Andorra
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Oliver Glasner fired a warning similar to Roy Keane after beating Liverpool twice
Incidentally, Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has already sounded out those issues after beating Liverpool twice.
As Keane alluded to, those problems started in the Community Shield, where Crystal Palace beat Liverpool on penalties at Wembley in August.
Palace then won against Liverpool again in September to end the Reds’ 100 percent unbeaten record in the Premier League, making the Anfield faithful fear the Austrian boss.
And he claimed the warning signs were already there in terms of Liverpool’s high defensive line, which he exploited via the likes of Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta to ensure Palace’s unbeaten run in all competitions continued.
Speaking to FootballJOE, Glasner said: “We could see I think in the last game of the season when we drew 1-1 at Anfield, and then in the Community Shield, that they are playing sometimes with a very high line and playing for offside.
“We knew when to make the runs in behind, like it was for the second goal.
“So this is what we learned from the Community Shield – and also then in the league – that we could see we had many chances creating in this way.
“When we do it, when we find the right timing, when you do it in the right moments, we will create chances and we’re able to score goals. This gives us confidence.
“If you never have a chance, it’s difficult to score and then of course you can’t win a game, and on the other side it was of course that we had to control their attack. We did very well in the first half, we struggled in the second half.
“So, they created a few chances, but that’s also the quality of their players and of their manager. And yeah, I think all these small puzzle pieces helped us to get the win against Liverpool.”
The way to beat Liverpool is now public knowledge. If Arne Slot doesn’t fix those problems domestically, it could be a disappointing season for the Reds.