Jamie Carragher believes that Liverpool's sub-par pressing has been one of the primary factors behind their lacklustre start to the season after the Reds were thrashed 4-1 by Napoli on Wednesday night.
The chastening defeat, courtesy of a brace from Piotr Zielinski and goals from Franck Zambo Anguissa and Giovanni Simeone, have left the Reds with a mountain to climb in the Champions League.
Luis Diaz replied for Liverpool after the break, but the damage had already been for Jurgen Klopp's side, who have massively underwhelmed so far this term after going close to an unprecedented quadruple last year.
Napoli caused Liverpool's defence countless problems and enjoyed great success against the Reds' high-line. And while Liverpool's defensive approach has been criticised previously, Carragher is adamant that it is a lack of intensity further up the pitch which is the main cause of the problems that are currently plaguing his old club.
Carragher told CBS: “We mentioned that before the game, this is a problem for Liverpool - the high line and that they aren’t actually getting pressure on the ball. The thing for me, right now is that Liverpool play a high-risk game, but they're not pressing the ball to stop that high-risk game and it’s causing them the problem.
“It’s not a problem with how high the line is, it’s about being compact, being together. But when someone gets time on the ball. So often we say, it’s too easy to get through Liverpool’s midfield. That didn’t happen before, so you could play that high line and be really compact. But if that’s not happening, you have to adapt.”
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And he continued: “People may criticise me because this team is so fantastic and this is what they have done, they’ve had great success. But all I am talking about is five yards. I’m not talking about a Liverpool team retreating 10, 15, 20 yards back. What I’m saying is that when the ball is there and you know he’s going to kick it, you are ready to go and as he goes to kick it, you go back. And if he doesn’t kick it, you’ve only gone two yards and then you get back to your line.
“It’s embarrassing, it really is. I said before, it’s kids’ stuff and this is the big problem with Liverpool right now. They’ve built their success on intensity on the ball, which means their opposition can’t get their head up to put the ball over. So your team is always tight and always really compact, always a risk, but you’ve got energy on the ball. That energy is not there now. So that back four has to adapt.
“If they keep playing that [high line] they are going to have a big problem, in terms of the Premier League this season and qualifying for the next round of the Champions League.”
And speaking after the match Klopp appeared to agree with Carragher's point, with the Reds chief adding: "The high defensive line is not a problem. It becomes a problem if you can't press well. We weren't compact, we were never close to the ball carriers."
