Michael Dawson was stunned by what he witnessed from Liverpool defensively in their 0-3 defeat by Atalanta on Thursday night.
The Reds’ 14-month unbeaten run at Anfield came crashing down painfully at the hands of Gian Piero Gasperini’s side, who now have one foot firmly in the Europa League semi-finals.
Speaking about the Reds on Sky Sports‘ Soccer Saturday, the ex-Tottenham defender blasted the ‘Sunday League’ defending from Jurgen Klopp’s team in that fixture and believes that it’s become a serious problem in recent games.
Dawson said: “It’s a huge concern. I was watching the game and I saw the goals and opportunities they were giving away. You can talk about the other end of the field where you feel they should be taking chances, but I’ve always thought that’s something they’ve improved on. They’ve looked far from it.
“The mistake last week [Jarell Quansah v Man United], it can happen. One slack pass and then Bruno [Fernnades] puts the ball in the back of the net, but your mindset at this time of the season is concentration. Can we get over the line? One mistake can cost you.
“That defending in midweek, it blew my mind. It really did. Give credit to Atalanta, but as a defensive unit you can’t lose your structure, your shape. They were all over the place. [Gianluca] Scamacca’s second goal, it’s something you’d see in Sunday League. There was no-one even near him.”
The frightening thing about Liverpool’s defeat on Thursday is that it could easily have been even more comprehensive.
Atalanta got seven of their 11 shots on target and, despite being culpable for the first goal in particular, Caoimhin Kelleher made a couple of brave saves to prevent the damage from being even worse.
The Reds are on a run of eight matches without a clean sheet, dating back to the win at Nottingham Forest on 2 March, and that’s something Klopp will be desperate to remedy in the final five weeks of the campaign if they’re to end his time at Anfield with the Premier League trophy.
You can view Dawson’s comments below (from 3:08), via Sky Sports News on YouTube: