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Liverpool preseason review: 3 positives and negatives for Euro champs

After coming close to securing the Premier League title last season, and following their success in the Champions League, Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool will be looking to better their form in an attempt to upset Manchester City's plans at monopolizing the Premier League in Bayern Munich fashion.

Liverpool will kick the new Premier League season off against newly-promoted Norwich City who will be looking to make their mark as early as possible following their long-awaited return to the top-flight of English football.

Here's a look at some of the positive and negative things that could have an effect on what the future holds for Liverpool with regards to their title bid.



Positives

Transfer Business

Liverpool's forays into the transfer market have been pretty much non-existent, especially compared to last season where Klopp managed to bring in some new players who contributed a great deal to the team's success.

Most of the time when a top club is inactive in the transfer market it usually spells doom for their season even before they've played their opening game as they tend to lag behind their rivals who have raided the transfer market for some of the most in-demand players in the world.

After what Liverpool achieved last season, though, staying quiet for the most part of the transfer window could be beneficial in the long run as Klopp will be able to maintain his team's chemistry without the risk of introducing players who may ruin the dynamic in the dressing room and inadvertently on the pitch.

As of right now, Liverpool boast of one of the strongest lineups in Europe to the extent where most new signings would struggle to break into Klopp's preferred XI.


Attacking Prowess

You can't win games if you can't score goals, and if there's one thing Liverpool know how to do with ease, it's to find the back of the net.

The famed trio of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino will be raring to give Liverpool fans another season full of sublime goalscoring displays having bagged a combined tally of 56 goals throughout last season.

With other players capable of chipping in with goals here and there, Liverpool will have no problems breezing past teams with their impressive goalscoring abilities.

Liverpool's ability to find the back of the net will come in handy against sides who sit incredibly deep in their own half in an attempt to avoid defeat by any means.

Getting the three points against those types of teams can be the difference between lifting the Premier League title and settling for a Champions League qualification spot.


Liverpool's Defensive Ability

Goals win games, defences win titles; Liverpool have moved past the era of trying to outscore their opponents whilst hoping for the best thanks to the arrivals of Alisson, Virgil Van Dijk and Andrew Robertson who more or less put Liverpool's defence on lockdown last season.

Judging by their closely contested Community Shield tie against Manchester City, Liverpool look set to put up another defensive masterclass, but perhaps this time, it'll be worthy of a Premier League title.

Last season, the Reds kept 21 clean sheets and conceded just 38 goals, should they manage to better that record this season whilst still producing goals at the front, then surely the league will be within their grasp this season.



Negatives

Expectations

There's a certain weight of expectation that comes with being the Champions of Europe, and going into the new season, that weight is Liverpool's to bear.

Liverpool fans will be going into the 2019/2020 season with a lot of optimism, an emotion they could not confidently feel a couple of seasons ago.

As of right now, the name 'Liverpool' can be spoken in the same breath as the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid as one of the best teams in the world, but in modern times, they're still a bit new to this level of success, and thus; could crumble under the pressure of being regarded as a favourite to win every competition they're participating in.

This season will be crucial to Liverpool's standing in European football, as another successful Champions League and domestic campaign will cement their place amongst the giants of Europe.


Rivals

It's not uncommon for a team to dominate one season and then get found out in the next.

Liverpool took the Premier League by surprise with how good they were last season, but now that their rivals have had a chance to study their play and what makes them tick there's a chance that teams might be able to cope with Liverpool's high press better than they did last season which could, very well, spell disaster for the Reds.

We've seen this happen with Chelsea after they won the Premier League with Antonio Conte.

Teams are always trying to come up with the best ways to counter certain types of opposition, hence; unless Klopp is able to introduce a new dynamic to his style of play.

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Phillip Ekuwem
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Phillip Ekuwem

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