Danny Murphy explains where Liverpool were most vulnerable vs Manchester City
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Danny Murphy believes that the right side of Liverpool’s team was where they were the most vulnerable on Sunday.Conor Bradley tried his best to continue his impressive run of form against Manchester City, but he was no match for Jeremy Doku. Danny Murphy reckons Liverpool need to find more balance in their starting XIOne thing that Liverpool have struggled with this term is finding the right balance.Since Salah doesn’t put in much effort defensively, they’ve consistently been caught out with Liverpool’s set-up actually helping Doku thrive.
It also doesn’t help that most of the Reds’ opponents have figured out the best way to beat Arne Slot’s men, and that the Egyptian King isn’t scoring as much as he used to.Teams are slowly catching on to the best way to beat the Anfield outfit, with most now playing this way against Liverpool, with Murphy even saying he felt “sorry” for Bradley on Sunday. “Jeremy Doku was absolutely brilliant for Manchester City in their 3-0 win on Sunday, but Liverpool’s tactics were the reason he was able to run riot down their right,” he wrote on the BBC Sport website.“Without Mohamed Salah tracking back, Arne Slot’s side were always so vulnerable down that flank and I felt sorry for Conor Bradley, who was trying to stop Doku but had Nico O’Reilly to worry about too.“Even if Liverpool had found some better balance, and had a winger who gave Bradley more defensive support or condensed City’s space, then with the way Doku was playing he would still have been almost impossible to stop.“Doku was a pleasure to watch, irrespective of who you support and who you wanted to win.
You had to admire his skill, pace, strength and bravery – and his goal was just amazing.“The way Liverpool were set up, though, actually helped him shine.“He was electric and the game’s star man. Of course, they still have plenty of time to turn things around and make them better, but unless that happens soon, some serious questions are going to be asked.If Slot can’t get his first-team squad back to their best soon, he may have to turn towards Liverpool’s academy players to see if they can offer something different.