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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Ian Doyle

Liverpool have a worrying problem that began back in May

The reverberations - and sniggering - from across the Premier League when Aleksander Mitrovic headed home could be felt all the way back to Craven Cottage.

But for those paying attention, there was little surprise at the Serbian international nodding Fulham in front on Saturday. And not just because the striker netted a record 43 goals in the Championship last season to help earn his side promotion back to the Premier League.

Jurgen Klopp will certainly have been aware that, for the seventh time in the last nine competitive games, his Liverpool team had conceded the first goal.

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The run began in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final at Villarreal, when the Reds found themselves 2-0 behind going into the break, their Anfield advantage wiped away. As at Fulham, Klopp's men found themselves placed on the back foot by a team willing to match and even surpass them in terms of intensity and pressing, even if the Spaniards ultimately ran out of steam and ended up being beaten 3-2.

Indeed, on three other occasions - at Aston Villa and Southampton, as well as at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers - Liverpool fought back to win. But the other two times they failed to do so proved hugely pivotal, the 1-1 draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur that saw the Reds drop two points that would have turned the Premier League title race in their favour, and, of course, the 1-0 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.

It has become a new and worrying trend. The circumstances have often been different - the Reds' woeful first-half performance at Fulham contrasted greatly with their efforts in Paris, for example - but, even just a few days into the season, Klopp and his coaching staff know the shortcoming must be addressed.

Consider this. Compared to the recent sequence, Liverpool conceded first only 12 times in their first 56 games last season. And it made an impact. The Reds won only five of those games - one of which was a penalty shoot-out triumph against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup quarter-final - while drawing four and losing the other three against West Ham United, Leicester and Inter Milan.

How important the first goal is can be seen from Liverpool's record when opening the scoring last season. Only against Manchester City, Brighton and Hove Albion and Benfica at home, along with Chelsea away, did they net first and not go on to win, and even the Benfica encounter they were already ahead 3-1 from the first leg. Klopp's side drew all four matches.

The last time Liverpool lost when scoring first was in February 2021 at Leicester City, one of a total of only 11 times it has happened during Klopp's tenure - the most painful of which, of course, was the Europa League final defeat to Sevilla six years ago.

Saturday was an unusual experience for Liverpool in one respect. The 32 minutes they were behind at Fulham before Darwin Nunez's equaliser was technically the longest they had trailed in a Premier League match since the 3-2 defeat at West Ham back in November.

The continued absence of Diogo Jota, Liverpool's main gamebreaker last season - the Portuguese opened the scoring in nine Reds games - will undoubtedly have an impact, along with the exits of Sadio Mane (six opening goals) and Takumi Minamino (three). Mohamed Salah, with four, was the only other Reds player to break the deadlock more than twice last term.

Liverpool will hope Nunez, who notched the first equaliser at Fulham, can build on the impressive start to his Reds career from the bench by making a similar impact from a starting role.

But regardless of who finds the mark, the Reds need to start edging their noses in front first more regularly once again. After all, keeping pace with Manchester City is difficult enough without having to play catch-up on an almost weekly basis.

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