Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel has weighed in on Liverpool’s chances of winning the Premier League title this season. He explained that Jurgen Klopp’s men have been poor at defending and that could hinder them from claiming the English crown.
The Merseysiders currently lead the Premier League title race with 63 points from 27 games. They sit one point above second-placed Manchester City and two above third-placed Arsenal. The Reds have been tipped by many to go all the way this term but Peter Schmeichel isn’t convinced by their defending.
The legendary goalkeeper expressed doubt about the Reds’ backline on BBC’s Planet Premier League. Although he acknowledged the efforts of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker, the Dane insists that the overall defensive unit has been poor.
“I’m really mystified,” said Schmeichel. “Van Dijk is a fantastic defender but I don’t think Liverpool defends particularly well. They’ve been very, very reliant on Alisson this season until he got injured. Alisson has proven himself again as one of the best goalkeepers in one-on-one situations.
“The number of one-on-one situations they leave their goalkeeper with, for me, in order to win the Premier League it’s too many, it’s too risky.”
The Manchester United icon went on to point to the Carabao Cup final versus Chelsea last month to further buttress his point. Liverpool conceded many chances prior to sealing a 1-0 win in extra time.
“If you go back to the [Carabao] Cup final against Chelsea, the number of chances Chelsea had, you can’t argue that Liverpool are defending well, you just can’t,” he continued.
“They have one of the best defenders in the world, yes, but they are not defending well. So there are great opportunities for Man City in this game coming up,” added Schmeichel.
Liverpool have kept nine clean sheets in 27 Premier League games this season and conceded the second-lowest 25 goals.Up next, they will lock horns with Manchester City in a top-of-the-table Premier League clash at the Etihad that could greatly impact the title race. The match is scheduled to take place at Anfield on Sunday, March 10.
Exploring Liverpool’s defensive record in the Premier League so far this season
A quick look at the numbers reveals that Liverpool haven’t been that bad defensively. In fact, Jurgen Klopp’s men have been one of the best with regards to the number of goals conceded in the English top flight across the season so far.The Reds have let in just 25 goals in 27 games since the campaign kicked off back in the summer. Their record is only bested by Arsenal, who have conceded 23 times from the same number of matches in the division.
However, a look at their recent league results shows why there’s some panic. The Merseysiders have conceded in four of their last five outings in the English top flight, letting in six goals, with a number of them avoidable.
