Skip to content
Cody Gakpo just exposed Jürgen Klopp transfer need as $36m Liverpool duo need replacing
ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL // It was fitting that Roberto Firmino made a decisive impact off the bench for Liverpool on his farewell home appearance, but less so that the result effectively ends the Reds’ hopes of making the top four spots.
After a difficult campaign in which Liverpool has done well to recover sufficiently to earn a Europa League place, Jürgen Klopp will oversee some major changes in the close season, with James Milner, Naby Keïta and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also departing.
This performance was a reminder of why that is necessary, with Liverpool’s run of seven wins on the spin coming to an end and Manchester United narrowly beating Bournemouth at the same time.
READ MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold has just shown why Jürgen Klopp may need to rethink Liverpool switch
READ MORE: Final Liverpool fixture compared to Man United and Newcastle as Champions League chances clear
Here are the three moments Liverpool.com picked out from the Reds’ 1-1 draw with Aston Villa, which leaves Klopp’s men able to collect a maximum of 69 points this Premier League season — a figure Manchester United and Newcastle, each with a game in hand to play, has already reached.
The Good
Nothing about the game nor the result was good. Results elsewhere mean that the Champions League places are essentially completely gone, with the final match of the season against Southampton effectively now meaningless.
But what took place post-match was heartwarming. Departing quartet Firmino, Milner, Keïta and Oxlade-Chamberlain were each given a guard of honor, with the first two names on that list afforded the biggest reception.
Firmino, clearly emotional, will be a huge loss and he and his family relished every second during a lap of the pitch, with the Brazilian reluctant to leave Anfield behind at the end.
It is, ultimately, the right call to move these players on at the end of their contracts, but that is not to say that they will be easy to replace — Firmino and Milner, the former proving to have been a $36m (£29m/€33m) bargain, the latter arguably the best free transfer move in Liverpool history, will leave gaping holes the Reds will need to fill.
The Bad
Far too often, Liverpool was too slow in its build-up and unable to break down a deep Aston Villa defense packed with bodies. Jordan Henderson lacks the guile and neither Curtis Jones nor Fabinho were at their best in possession.
Cody Gakpo was, in fact, the best of the lot in the number eight role when he moved back there midway through the second half.
His ability to keep hold of the ball — spinning away from defenders like Bernardo Silva or holding them off with his body positioning as Gini Wijnaldum did — is an underrated skill.
Sign up for our EXCLUSIVE Liverpool.com newsletter!
If you enjoyed this piece, you’ll love our Liverpool.com newsletter — every weekday, we send exclusive, bonus content only to people signed up for our mailing list!
Our newsletter subscribers get a rundown Monday to Friday from one of the best Liverpool FC writers — straight to your inbox, and completely for free.
Wherever you are in the world — in the US, the UK or further afield — you don’t want to miss out.
Sign up to the Liverpool.com newsletter here — it only takes a few seconds!
Gakpo was able to bring Liverpool up the pitch and draw players out of position with his dribbling while linking things up as Firmino did expertly at his peak.
That is something that Liverpool needs from whichever number eights it signs in the summer: technique and physicality combined.
Jones has shown it over the past few weeks — though he wasn’t at his best today — and no one else in the Liverpool squad is capable. That is, perhaps, where Alexis Mac Allister and Mason Mount come in.
The Ugly
There is nothing worse than a player feigning injury and while some of the issues that Aston Villa players picked up were genuine, there was exasperation around Anfield any time any visiting player went down — the boy who cried wolf, as it were.
Even the Aston Villa players didn’t kick the ball out of play for Lucas Digne to receive treatment when he went down inside his own box in the first half, with the ball rarely in play for a sustained period.
As was the case against Brentford, every set-piece took an age; every throw-in in the Liverpool half was treated as if it was a free kick. All the while, time ticked down and momentum was broken up.
Liverpool should have played better, but Aston Villa couldn’t have been better at time-wasting. It’s a growing issue that will, ultimately, impact the spectacle if its not fully addressed.
