Jurgen Klopp and his successor are facing significant challenges from Liverpool in two areas.

The Ian Doyle analysis following Liverpool’s humiliating 1-0 Premier League home loss to Crystal Palace

Attack need overhaul

Like every assault, there was bound to be a time when Liverpool’s prolific forward line would cease to produce goals. However, it is rare that it occurred at such a bad moment.

The Reds were once again undone by their wastefulness after squandering opportunities to win at Manchester United the previous weekend and then having enough opportunity to give themselves a fighting chance for the Europa League quarterfinal second leg against Atalanta on Thursday.

For those who place a lot of weight on these arbitrary measurements, Liverpool’s xG (expected goals) total of 2.87 was the highest for a Premier League game in which they failed to score since records for such metrics were kept in 2010. In fact, no side has been so wasteful since Brighton two years ago.

Even though each forward line member still had a fair chance to score, it is concerning that they appear just as worn out as the rest of the team. Goalkeeper Dean Henderson of Palace made some unintentionally excellent stops to deny Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, and he also denied a late shot from Mohamed Salah.

Henderson was nowhere to be found, and only fellow substitute Cody Gakpo had any genuine energy among the forwards. Even Diogo Jota had a chance to score but was denied by a block from former Liverpool player Nathaniel Clyne. Jota and Gakpo are also expected to arrive in Italy on Thursday. It’s time to relaunch the offensive.

Alisson deserves more.

When Liverpool’s player of the year, Alisson Becker, suffered a serious hamstring injury more than two months ago, there was concern among some that the team’s season would have collapsed.

Therefore, it would have come as a pleasant surprise to many if the Reds had entered the most recent round of games tied for first place at the Premier League summit.

Although Caoimhin Kelleher has played well to solidify his position as perhaps the nation’s best number two goalie, Alisson is the top goalie in the world for a reason, as evidenced by his incredible save of Jean-Philippe Mateta at point blank range in the second half.

However, there was little the Brazilian could do to stop Crystal Palace’s goal, as Liverpool let the visitors kick the ball around unopposed until it dropped for an unmarked Ebererchi Eze to score.

The Reds’ current record of nine Premier League games at Anfield without a clean sheet is now equal to their longest streak of any team in the tournament when it comes to home losses. Additionally, it meant that in half of Klopp’s team’s 32 Premier League games this season, his team has trailed at some point.

That is just untenable for a squad that wants to win a championship, and the new manager should definitely address this.

Trent and Jones draw attention to an issue

The joke from earlier in the week implied that it was standard Liverpool fare to come out of an injury crisis only to deteriorate further. However, recent performance demonstrates the problem Klopp had previously mentioned—that is, the necessity of reintegrating players into a team following an extended period of time away from the pitch.

For instance, Curtis Jones made his first Premier League start in two months, and the result left the crowd furious as he missed two excellent second-half opportunities. Would one of those opportunities have been converted by a more match-sharp Jones? Considering his pre-injury form, it’s rather likely.

As a replacement for the injured Conor Bradley, Trent Alexander-Arnold made his first appearance since mid-February, albeit an early one.

Even though he was understandably rusty, he was still able to display some of the inventiveness that made him such a valuable player in the first few games of the campaign.

And Alexander-Arnold will play a big part once more if Liverpool are to win anything in the final weeks.