Full-back thoughts
Such has been Kostas Tsimikas’ form in his second season at Liverpool, hardly an eyelid is battered when Jurgen Klopp rotates his left-backs and starts the 25-year-old these days.
The Greek Scouser is fast becoming a beloved cult hero at Anfield, with the traits that make him increasingly popular evident when he was given the nod against Norwich City on Saturday.
Seeing it as a personal insult if he loses possession, the left-back’s never-say-die attitude sees him relish the Premier League’s physicality as he flings himself into challenges.
Meanwhile, he manages to ensure there is no obvious drop-off in the Reds’ attacking credentials when he is selected, bombarding forward at will and linking up with Liverpool’s left-sided forward.
He could have opened the scoring for Klopp’s side early on against Norwich, blazing over the crossbar from Mohamed Salah’s cross, but did manage to add to his assists tally when setting up Sadio Mane's equaliser from one of a match-high 13 crosses .
And while not everything came off for Tsimikas, Liverpool continue to reap the benefits of boasting two high-quality attacking left-backs.
But it’s a different story on the opposing flank.
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In a Reds squad littered with depth, right-back is the one position Klopp lacks that quality like-for-like replacement.
With Neco Williams sent on loan to Fulham, and seemingly available for transfer, it was Joe Gomez given the nod as Trent Alexander-Arnold was rested against Norwich, with the England international coming in for his first league start of the season.
The 24-year-old played reasonably well considering, and certainly a lot better than on his last Anfield start against Leicester City in the League Cup, but Liverpool won’t have learnt anything they didn’t already know from his showing.
Solid defensively and boasting good recovery pace, Gomez is a talented defender. There is no doubt about that. But a natural attacking right-back he is not, there is no doubt about that either.
He tried his best to support Salah and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain against Norwich, breaking forward and crossing into the box when the opportunity presented itself. But there is no escaping the fact he looks like a centre-back playing right-back and is always so much more comfortable in his natural position.
From his nine appearances in Premier League and Champions League this season, Gomez has enjoyed just one minute of action at centre-back - and that came as part of a back five against Tottenham following Andy Robertson’s dismissal.
With Klopp making seven changes against Norwich, it was only right he handed the defender a much-needed start and much-needed minutes. But he remains wasted at right-back, being nothing more than a square peg in a round role.
Currently fourth in Liverpool’s centre-back pecking order, with the Reds avoiding any repeat of the injuries at the heart of defence they have traditionally rocked them, it’s hard to see his situation changing anytime soon.
But come the summer, Klopp needs to find a solution to both defensive dilemmas as Gomez’s Reds future comes to a head and Liverpool weigh up if they can find a right-sided Tsimikas.
No way Kabak?
It’s a year to the day since Ozan Kabak made his Anfield debut.
When he answered Liverpool’s call to solve their centre-back injury crisis, signing on loan from Schalke last year, he did so in the hope that he would join the Reds permanently come the summer.
Unfortunately for the Turk, he would be left disappointed as Jurgen Klopp opted to move for Ibrahima Konate in a £36m move from RB Leipzig instead.
It would not have helped the 21-year-old that, after a shaky start at Anfield, injury ended his season prematurely just as he was finding his feet, giving Rhys Williams the opportunity to emerge as the unlikely hero alongside Nat Phillips as Liverpool fought back to finish in the top four.
The fact that both young centre-backs have found themselves loaned out and down the pecking order at Anfield highlights just how much has changed on Merseyside following last year’s centre-back injury crisis. After the famine, comes the feast.
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Perhaps if Kabak had had the opportunity to play alongside a Virgil van Dijk, or even a Joel Matip, he could have made more of a claim for a permanent Liverpool switch.
Instead, he now finds himself on loan at Norwich City, however failed to find a permanent suitor, and down the pecking order following injury and the arrival of Dean Smith.
Returning to the Canaries matchday squad against the Reds, he wasn’t to be granted an appearance against his former employers as he was left as an unused substitute, with the FA Cup visit to Anfield next month perhaps a more likely opening for him back into the Norwich starting XI.
He has actually made more Premier League appearances than Konate this year, boasting nine to seven.
But Klopp will have no regrets about his transfer decision, with his £36m man already looking an assured long-term signing as opposed to what he witnessed from the raw Kabak this time last year.
However, while the Frenchman is yet to taste defeat as a Liverpool player, the Turk is yet win against top-flight opposition with Norwich, with 0-0 draws with Brighton and Burnley and an FA Cup win over Charlton the best of his stint in East Anglia so far.
With his signing for Norwich seen as something of a coup back in the summer, the reality has been somewhat different with that win over the Addicks his only appearance of 2022.
While he wasn’t afforded the opportunity for a warm reception from the Kop, it was hugs all around with his former manager and team-mates come the final whistle
Now he heads into the final months of the season with his future as uncertain as it was 12 months ago. In contrast, with Konate and Gomez in reserve to Van Dijk and Matip, Liverpool’s centre-back quota has never looked stronger.
Mentality monsters are back
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
Sadio Mane has certainly been paying attention to the old adage after eventually scoring an overhead kick for Liverpool.
It is something the Senegalese has repeatedly attempted throughout his Reds career with no success, with such an effort that went narrowly wide against Inter Milan in midweek perhaps one of his closest efforts.
But finally the plan has come together.
His goal against Norwich from such an attempt on Saturday came at a vital time, moments after a double-substitution that turned the match in the Reds’ favour after falling behind.
And with Liverpool roaring back to claim all three points just as their title challenge began to look particularly fragile, one thing is clear. The mentality monsters are back.
So often in Klopp’s reign, the Reds had stolen victory from the jaws of defeat, either netting a late winner or finding a way to fight back after falling behind.
Such a trait had been lacking for the majority of the first half of the season, but Liverpool have rediscovered the match-winning ability that made them champions just when they needed it most.
And the fact that it came just hours before Man City lost to Tottenham Hotspur in the most dramatic of circumstances, closing the gap in the title-race in the process, could make it even more vital.
Their players never give up and will be going all out on all four fronts in the remaining months of the season.
Whether it’s as simple as Mane repeatedly trying to score an overhead kick, ignoring any suggestion that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, or the Reds digging in deep just as doubt starts to emerge, these are the never-say-die traits that sets Klopp’s squad apart.
They have been English, European and World champions for a reason and it is this winning mentality that will spur them on. If Man City slip up, they will be there to pounce.
The mentality monsters are back.
