Jurgen Klopp is still hunting down a quadruple in his final Liverpool season (Picture: Getty Images)
Liverpool are defending badly and it will likely cost them their Premier League title challenge, believes Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel.
The Reds sit top of the Premier League table but just one point clear of defending champions Manchester City in second.
The two teams meet at Anfield on Sunday afternoon in a blockbuster clash and if there is a winner, that side will be favourites to win the title with 10 games to play.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are undoubtedly having a brilliant season, not only top of the table but winning the Carabao Cup last month, but Schmeichel is not impressed with how they have been defending.
The iconic goalkeeper says Virgil van Dijk is one of the best defenders on the planet and Alisson Becker a superb ‘keeper, but the defensive unit for the Reds has not been functioning well.
‘I’m really mystified,’ Schmeichel told BBC’s Planet Premier League. ‘Van Dijk is a fantastic defender but I don’t think Liverpool defends particularly well.
‘They’ve been very, very reliant on Alisson this season until he got injured. Alisson has proven himself again as one of the best goalkeepers in one-on-one situations.
Peter Schmeichel has serious doubts over Liverpool’s title credentials (Picture: Getty Images)
‘The number of one-on-one situations they leave their goalkeeper with, for me, in order to win the Premier League it’s too many, it’s too risky.
‘If you go back to the [Carabao] Cup final against Chelsea, the number of chances Chelsea had, you can’t argue that Liverpool are defending well, you just can’t.
‘They have one of the best defenders in the world, yes, but they are not defending well. So there are great opportunities for Man City in this game coming up.’
Alisson remains one of Liverpool’s numerous injury problems, with Caoimhin Kelleher standing in for the Brazilian stopper.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch, Joel Matip and Thiago Alcantara will all miss the clash with Pep Guardiola’s side as well.
Mohamed Salah is back, though, with Klopp confirming he will be involved against Sparta Prague in the Europa League on Thursday night.
‘He is with us and has trained two days, he is full of energy, we have to see,’ said the German of the Egyptian. ‘But it is so good that he is back. It is really good and you can see he is happy.’
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