There’s a point where the tactics chat stops being the main story and it becomes about basics. Individual moments. Defensive habits. And, right now, Liverpool’s centre-back situation feels like the area that keeps dragging everything else down.
Arne Slot’s set-up will always get pulled apart after a goal, because that’s what we do as fans. But it’s fair to say the system doesn’t force a defender to dive in at the wrong time or to turn away when a shot’s coming. Those are the moments that stick, and they’re the ones that make people uneasy about the current options.
When “at the scene of the crime” keeps happening
The phrase is harsh, but it lands because it matches what supporters feel they’re watching. Ibrahima Konate has everything you’d want physically, and on his day he looks dominant. The problem is the errors, or the lapses, don’t feel like a one-off anymore.
If you’re constantly rewinding goals and the same defender is nearby, asking the same questions, you start to lose trust. Was the decision to step in necessary? Was the body shape right? Did he attack the ball or just react? Centre-half is one of those positions where a single mistake is rarely “just a mistake”. It changes the match.
Gomez: trusted, but can you rely on him?
Joe Gomez still has goodwill at Anfield, and rightly so. He was there alongside Virgil van Dijk in the title season under Klopp, and you don’t forget players who helped deliver a league after all those years.
But the uncomfortable bit is availability. Injuries take their toll, and even when he’s playing well you’re never far away from wondering if his body will let him string a run together. That’s not a slight on his character, it’s just reality for squad building. You can be an able replacement in theory, but not an able-bodied replacement when you’re breaking down.
Why four proper centre-halves matters
If you don’t think the lack of a nailed-on, starting-quality centre-back has played a part in defensive issues, you might be sitting on that bench alone. The top sides give themselves options. They don’t just have one partnership and a prayer.
Look around the league and you can see the benefit of having depth at centre-half, not just numbers. Liverpool know this better than anyone, because we’ve lived the season where the middle of the defence collapses and everything else follows it: the line drops, the confidence goes, and the whole side looks far more open in transitions.
Truth is, you can patch it for a while. You can get by with form and momentum. But if the aim is to be solid over months, not just weeks, the centre of defence has to stop feeling like a weekly gamble.
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