Dejan Lovren was injured in Liverpool's FA Cup defeat to Wolves
Tuesday 8 January 2019 11:14, UK
Dejan Lovren’s injury during Liverpool's FA Cup defeat to Wolves plunges Jurgen Klopp into a centre-back conundrum that will test them in the Premier League title race, writes Adam Bate from Molineux.
Even Virgil van Dijk needs a partner. Dejan Lovren's hamstring injury that forced him off the field inside five minutes of Liverpool's FA Cup third round defeat to Wolves at Molineux means that Jurgen Klopp could now be without three centre-backs. With Joe Gomez and Joel Matip already out, it represents a huge problem in a title race with little room for error.
Asked at the end of the press conference after the game whether Lovren's hamstring injury now presented him with a headache, Klopp was brusque in his reply. "Yes," he said. "What do you think?" The follow-up question concerned the likely length of the layoff. "I want to know, you can believe me," he added. "But I don't know."
Any tetchiness in his tone was understandable and perhaps his mood was exacerbated not just by the result but by the fact that he had felt forced into selecting Lovren for the game against his better judgment. The Croatian was the only player that Klopp has picked to start in each of the last six matches. He had been earmarked for a rest.
"Dejan was not in the plans," he admitted. "He should only have been on the bench." But a number of late withdrawals due to illness and injury left the Liverpool boss with little choice. Now he will be wondering how costly that decision proves to be in the coming weeks.
Gomez and Matip remain some time away from full fitness and while fielding a proper centre-back partner for Van Dijk should not be a problem for the game against Leicester at the end of the month, there are two Premier League fixtures to negotiate before then.
Liverpool visit Brighton on Saturday and then host Crystal Palace the following weekend. The fixture list could have thrown up tougher opponents but that only makes it more essential that Klopp's team deliver the requisite six points even if they are understrength.
Title rivals Manchester City have had to cope with bigger losses this season - notably their player of the year from last season, Kevin De Bruyne, and star striker Sergio Aguero. But to lose three players in the same position is particularly unfortunate for Liverpool.
If the FA Cup tie with Wolves turned out to be an audition for the vacancy then it was not an encouraging one in the short term. Ki-Jana Hoever, the 16-year-old prospect who came on for Lovren, has vast potential and showed touches of class but it proved a difficult evening.
Meanwhile, his centre-back partner on the night, Fabinho, was far from flawless himself. Neither man received much help from Liverpool's full-backs on the night, but both were at least partially culpable for Raul Jimenez's goal that broke the deadlock at Molineux.
Alberto Moreno's pass was not the best and nor was James Milner's control. But Fabinho's decision to dive in on Diogo Jota was rash and left him out of position. Hoever really should have come across to cover but instead he allowed Jimenez to run through unchallenged.
Just after the hour mark there was another alarming moment when the Wolves striker once again won the duel with Fabinho before outmuscling Hoever to find himself with only Simon Mignolet to beat. He couldn't finish that chance but Klopp will have noted it all the same.
Fabinho will be the more likely deputy given his far greater experience and for the most part he did look his usual assured self in possession. Pairing him with Van Dijk could make for one of the most composed partnerships on the ball that the Premier League has seen.
Even so, it would be a testing examination for a player who is more used to operating with cover behind him. If he takes the risks that he took against Jimenez and Jota in a Premier League game then the consequences of the mistake could be hugely significant.
It may seem odd to be bemoaning the loss of Lovren, a player many Liverpool supporters will feel cost them the points against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium last week. But his injury not only comes at a bad time given the other centre-backs who are unavailable, if it forces Klopp to play Fabinho at the back then it robs Liverpool of this option in midfield.
There was a feeling that the Brazilian was missed there against City. If that solution is denied Klopp because the player is needed to plug a gap elsewhere then it is far from ideal. City have already had to come through their own tricky period this season. Is this Liverpool's turn? How Klopp copes with it could end up deciding the Premier League title race.
