Liverpool’s opening day victory over Leeds was a fantastic game for the neutrals, but you could understand it if there was some concern about the defensive performances.
Trent Alexander-Arnold struggled to deal with Jack Harrison and the offside flag also saved his blushes after a spectacular own goal too.
Virgil van Dijk had a shocker for one of the Leeds goals and Joe Gomez didn’t exactly cover himself in glory either, so it’s easy to be reactionary and wonder if Jurgen Klopp needs to prioritise a new centre back before anything else.
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I had the chance to ask former Liverpool defender Paul Konchesky about the game, and it’s clear that he still thinks Bayern Munich star Thiago Alcantara should be the priority this summer.
He admitted that the Spaniard “would be a fantastic signing for Liverpool”, while he also suggested that the defence can’t be written off after one poor game:
“It’s the first game of the season and there wasn’t much of a preseason so I’d say give them the benefit of the doubt”
It’s a fair assessment because the break has been much shorter than usual, while you also have to consider that Liverpool already had the title sewn up before the restart last season so it’s been a long time since they’ve played a truly competitive game.
It’s also fair to suggest that Leeds are much more than an ordinary newly promoted team, so you fancy that they’ll win plenty of games this season.
There’s still nothing to suggest that Liverpool are close to completing the signing of Thiago, but it’s worth giving the defenders a few games to settle down before worrying too much about that position.