Premier League: Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester United highlighted deficiencies in defence and attack

“We were the better side.” Brendan Rodgers’ assessment of his Liverpool team’s first-half performance at Old Trafford might raise a chuckle from the neutral but you could also see what he meant… If only you’re willing to turn a blind eye to events in both penalty boxes.

Unfortunately for Rodgers, that seems to be the sort of negligence with which his players are approaching their work at the moment. Great managers often talk about the details that decide games but Liverpool look flaky at the back with an alarming lack of conviction in attack.

Not that these have been the only issues. Rodgers has also faced accusations of abandoning the style of play that brought them success. As a result, there was a shift in emphasis before kick-off. “We’ve got to get back to doing what we do best,” he said in explaining his selection. “To play with intensity and a high level of technique.”

The early signs on that score were good and the creativity that was conspicuous by its absence in recent disappointments against Sunderland and Basel was evident once more. Liverpool pressed United in their own half and induced a series of errors from their great rivals.

Raheem Sterling, playing as the central striker, had support from Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana with the trio finding encouraging angles for passes as they pulled the opposition back-three around. The creativity issues were addressed. But it’s to no avail without the accompanying finish.

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League leaders Chelsea have the best shooting accuracy and top the shot conversion rate charts in this season’s Premier League. That’s an illustration of its importance. In contrast, Liverpool rank outside the top 10 in the division on both metrics and it proved costly on Sunday.

“It’s all jab, jab, jab,” said Gary Neville on co-commentary for Sky Sports and that seemed to sum it up. Sterling was a willing runner – his 93 sprints bettered only twice all season in the Premier League – but the finishing felt like a mere afterthought.

He alone had more shots on target than the Manchester United team in the first half. And yet, Sterling was unable to beat David de Gea while United twice found the net in the opening 45 minutes.  Mario Balotelli then continued the trend after coming on as a half-time substitute.

Balotelli wasteful

The Opta data shows that Balotelli has now had seven clear chances to score this season and netted none of them. By comparison, the only other player to have had two or more such opportunities without scoring a Premier League goal is Burnley’s Lukas Jutkiewicz. And he’s missed only three.

Balotelli was presented with two good chances against United but each time the shot was too close to De Gea. The Italian arrived at Anfield with a reputation for being a difficult character off the pitch but a cool finisher on it. He’s struggling to fulfil his part of the bargain and his Liverpool career is in danger of becoming perceived as unsalvageable.  

“If Liverpool had Suarez from last season or Sturridge was fit today, I’m not sure Liverpool would’ve lost the game because they created that many chances that a proper striker, a top-class finisher, I’m sure would have put one of those away.

De Gea’s saves were impressive and his man of the match award deserved, but the praise for the United goalkeeper need not be regarded as a free pass for the Liverpool forwards. They were complicit in his clean sheet and while Liverpool supporters might be sick of hearing the names of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge cited as reasons for their results, that doesn’t make it inaccurate.

“If Liverpool had Suarez from last season or Sturridge was fit today,” said Jamie Carragher afterwards, “I’m not sure Liverpool would’ve lost the game because they c