Liverpool must learn to maintain pressure, says club legend

As Idrissa Gueye swept home a crisp finish to hand Everton a lifeline in Saturday’s Merseyside derby, Liverpool manager Arne Sot was confronted by an uncomfortably familiar dilemma.

A two-goal lead has proved no great cause for confidence for the champions of late, with Bournemouth, Newcastle and Atlético Madrid all overturning such a deficit in the opening weeks of the season only to be thwarted, respectively, by late winners from Federico Chiesa, Rio Ngumoha and Virgil van Dijk.

So as Gueye’s second-half strike nestled in the back of the net, many of the 60, 342 souls crammed into Anfield would have been fearing another variation on a recurring theme.

Among those was the former Liverpool striker John Aldridge, who highlighted Liverpool’s uncertainty after the break and call on his former side to sustain their initial tempo deeper into games.   

‘Here we go again’

“I’m sure I wasn’t the only one left thinking: here we go again,” said Aldridge, writing in the Liverpool Echo following Liverpool’s 2-1 win. “For whatever reason, Liverpool aren’t learning their lesson at the moment and teams still feel as though they are well in the game at 2-0 down, forcing their way back into things.

“One of the features of the second half was just how sloppy Liverpool got. I don’t remember seeing them so uncertain in possession, they seemed to just keep giving it away.

“Maybe the team are taking it down a level or two once they are in the lead in an effort to preserve energy for the long term but when they are at full pelt, with the tempo up, they are brilliant to watch. You just hope they can keep at those levels for longer to put games to bed much sooner in the next few weeks.”

Strength in depth

The lunchtime kick-off was Liverpool’s third game in seven days, following the previous weekend’s Premier League win at Burnley and the midweek Champions League victory over Atlético. Arne Slot hailed the resilience of his players, but made it plain that key personnel including Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté, Mohamed Salah, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai would be rested for Tuesday’s League Cup meeting with Southampton.

Aldridge welcomed that prospect, however, suggesting it would showcase the club’s strength in depth and send a message to their rivals.

“Those changes won’t mean a huge drop in quality,” said the former Anfield favourite. “It must be worrying for other teams when they see what Liverpool are able to do with their match-day squads when they have so few injuries.”

Liverpool, who sit five points clear at the top of the Premier League table, have made an unblemished start to the season, winning all six of their matches so far.