It seems there is no good result for Liverpool ahead of an international break. Either Jürgen Klopp is robbed of momentum, or his players are left to stew on an unsatisfactory showing.
The prevailing narrative falls into the latter camp this time, with Liverpool entering the second break of the season winless in two league games. The reaction would presumably have been far more positive if the draw away at Brighton had left Klopp’s side top, as may well have been the case without the VAR error in the Spurs game, but football will always be an especially outcome-centric pursuit.
Even so, Klopp will be relatively content to see his Liverpool side in fourth at the break, just three points off the top of the league. With more than 20 per cent of the season now done, it’s becoming more and more reasonable to mention the Reds as potential title challengers.
If there’s one thing that might stop them, it is probably still the midfield, despite a summer transfer window in which that position was exclusively strengthened. Yet while doubts linger over the lack of an elite specialist number six, the Brighton game did serve as a reminder about the extent of the options at Klopp’s disposal slightly further forward.
While it almost feels as though Liverpool threw out the whole midfield and started again in the summer, there were a few survivors. One of those was Harvey Elliott, whose run of consecutive appearances last season was the longest of anyone in the squad.
In the suspension-enforced absence of another relative ‘veteran’ in Curtis Jones against Brighton, Klopp turned to Elliott, who has been used far more sparingly so far in this campaign. This new place in the pecking order is indicative of the level of competition at Anfield.
Explaining the selection before the game, Klopp reiterated that Elliott is a ‘super’ player (Sky Sports). But the performance he went on to deliver only deepened the conundrum about how best to fit him into Liverpool’s future plans.
It was far from an awful display. Elliott actually had a key role in the equalizing goal — he was more deserving of the assist than Darwin Núñez, with his presence of mind to get out the way opening up the chance for Mohamed Salah. But it was equally telling that Klopp chose to replace him at half-time.
On came Ryan Gravenberch. Again, his impact was not exactly clear-cut, with a huge miss at 2-1 potentially costing Liverpool two points. But overall, most would agree that the Dutchman gave Klopp’s side significantly more control.
Up to now, Klopp has made no secret of his plan for Elliott. Dubbing him a ‘player for the middle’ (Goal), the vast majority of his Liverpool outings have come as part of the midfield.
But while that might have made sense last season, as Klopp desperately sought some semblance of energy from a crumbling midfield unit, the equation has changed. Dominik Szoboszlai has been a revelation in Elliott’s primary position, Jones looks like a more natural fit to his left in the middle of the park, and Gravenberch seems to be the most suitable understudy. Eventually, Alexis Mac Allister will surely be competing for these more advanced roles too.
Meanwhile, there is something of a shortage in Elliott’s other position. Behind Salah, there is only Ben Doak who is a natural on the right flank. While the Egyptian will obviously play most games, he will not be at Anfield forever, and that does seem to be the next natural opening for any young talents looking to cement regular places.
Klopp has shown some signs that he is softening his stance on Elliott as a winger. For significant chunks of the Leicester and Union SG games, the 20-year-old ended up on the right — and while it must be said that his influence faded on both occasions, that’s natural in a position he has not played for a long while.
Fielding him as a winger comes with pitfalls of its own, and many have questioned whether Elliott really has the pace for that role. But as Salah morphs into more of a wide playmaker than the explosive player of old, perhaps this is a succession plan that now makes a bit more sense — not least as the path to minutes in the Liverpool midfield narrows.
