Jurgen Klopp has not exactly been searching for excuses for Liverpool's poor start to their season but he has at least been in possession of some mitigating factors.
While two defeats - at the difficult venues of Manchester United and Napoli - in eight games is not an immediate cause for genuine concern based on its own as an indicator of form, the general performances of the side since the first week of August have been alarming for the Reds manager.
Standards have slipped and the theories and critiques have rained down; players are out of form and questions are being asked. There is little dispute of any of that, but Klopp has at least been able to point to a handful of reasons for why his team have taken just half of the 21 points available to them across both the Premier League and Champions League.
