For a frontline department who have registered 82 times between them this term, Liverpool's attacking displays have been characterised by wastefulness of late.

The Reds' last goal in open play came over 360 minutes ago, in fact, when Cody Gakpo stooped to nod home Andy Robertson's cross in the 3-1 win against Sheffield United.

Since then, Luis Diaz has turned home a flick-on from a corner at Manchester United and Mohamed Salah struck from the penalty spot later in the game. For the last two games at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp's men have drawn blanks in damaging home defeats to Atalanta and Crystal Palace.

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As was anticipated the theories have raged in recent days as to why Liverpool have suddenly become so profligate, with so many desperate to point to broader, more worrying reasons for the recent tail-off.

Mohamed Salah is past it, Darwin Nunez is a fraud and it will take weeks before Diogo Jota regains any sort of sharpness after his injury...By now, the full range of emotional meltdowns after a defeat are nothing new for a club the size of Liverpool but it doesn't necessarily mean some of the more measured critiques don't have merit in them either.

Since the return of club football after the March international break, Liverpool have taken 108 shots in four games, scoring just seven goals in that time, which is a figure that is bolstered by the fact that three of those came against a Sheffield United side who have shipped 81 in their other 31 fixtures. Shocking, that equates to a goal every 15 shots, which is unsustainable for a team with title aspirations.

Just four points from the 12 available has seen Klopp's men cede control of their own destiny in the title race and they now need favours from elsewhere in the hope that both Arsenal and new leaders Manchester City stumble.

Prior to the break, Liverpool were scoring goals in the Premier League at a rate of one every 39 minutes. The games with Brighton, Sheffield United, Manchester United and Palace has seen that figure rise to 51 minutes. It's not a monumental leap but the lack of composure in many of those 108 shots has been a major cause for concern.

As highlighted by Jamie Carragher on Monday Night Football, Liverpool have a shot conversion rate of 11% and the lack of clarity when staring down the oppositions goalkeepers of late has been the difference.

"When you look at Manchester City they are a bit more controlled and Liverpool are a bit more chaotic.," he said. "And how often do Liverpool find themselves in these positions? (Luis Diaz one-on-one miss against Manchester City) where it is all so frantic, it's never really controlled and slow.

"And how often do you find that when Liverpool find themselves with four or five players converging on two players. I think if Manchester City are in this type of position (four versus two against Manchester United) they are just a bit more composed. They just take that extra pass, there's an extra bit of quality about it [if it's Man City]."

Carragher continued: "I think when you back to Liverpool's attacking players, you think of Nunez, Diaz, Salah, even Jota to a certain extent, everything is fast, everything is dynamic. It's a bit scruffy and they still score lots of goals but that thing where you just have to take that time, that pass, that extra bit of care on a pass or a finish."

It seems odd to criticise a team whose total for the season is 127 goals but the clinical touch has deserted them at just the wrong time. A lot still rests on their ability to find it once more, starting with the three-goal swing needed just to force extra time at Atalanta.