13 weeks out is a long time to be injured for a Premier League footballer. Whilst some argue that it is time wasted in the gym rather on the football pitch, recovery has to be done for any player to return ready for action once more.
But, some feel that time away from the game can allow a player to think about their game and possibly even work on their strengths and weaknesses. However, if Martin Skrtel’s performance against Southampton was anything to go by this weekend, he’s spent every single minute of his 13-week absence asleep.
Skrtel replaced Dejan Lovren at half time and unfortunately for the Slovakia international, this is when the game started to go downhill for the Reds – they shipped three goals to lose 3-2 having been 2-0 up.
It would be unfair to blame Skrtel entirely for Liverpool’s demise, but the long-serving defender looked a shadow of his former self on his return.
It was all a little strange on the South Coast. The Reds dominated in the first-half and despite only making three changes from the team that drew against Manchester United a matter of days before, Liverpool looked extremely fresh and dangerous, especially going forward. Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana, Joe Allen and Divock Origi all combined well and it resulted in a 2-0 half time lead. Job done many thought.
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But, back came Southampton and on came Skrtel. Unfortunately for the returning defender, Graziano Pelle also came into his own in the second 45 minutes, pulling the Anfielders’ backline all over the place. Skrtel hauled down the Southampton man four minutes after the restart and despite missing the penalty, the flaws were clear to see.
Slow, jaded and unfit were the words that came to mind. Also a severe lack of confidence. If you ask many what they think of Martin Skrtel the words ‘leader’, ‘beast’ and ‘passionate’ probably spring to mind. Yet all those traits looked absent as Liverpool’s performance began to fall apart.
Sadio Mane breezed past the Liverpool defender for the first and also missed a vital header in the run-up to the third. Both were glaring errors and pointed quite obviously to a lack of confidence and match-time.
He’s now in his ninth season at the club and recruting new blood looks like summer must for Jurgen Klopp. The German is not a manager that will shy away from making key decisions, nor will he hesitate if a summer overhaul is needed. This performances suggests Liverpool could be set for a stuttering end to the league campaign, despite ousting Manchester United from the Europa League with such ease.
Skrtel’s performance was peppered with basic errors and it’ll be worrying for the Liverpool faithful to see at this vital time. It’s safe to say that the Slovakian will probably be used a little more sparingly as the race for the final European places hot up – a vital few months for Klopp as the German attempts to stamp his own identify on his new club.
Jurgen, you’ve got a big job on your hands this summer.
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