Jason Cundy believes Liverpool are no longer an ‘absolutely sensational’ side as what made Jurgen Klopp’s midfield work ‘is gone’. He claims the Reds lack the intensity they once had.
The Anfield outfit are now set for their second trophyless season in the last five campaigns after exiting the Champions League. Klopp oversaw Liverpool exit the UEFA competition on Wednesday following the Merseyside natives’ worst defeat on aggregate of all time at 6-2.
Liverpool faced an uphill task to progress to the quarter-finals after losing 5-2 at Anfield to Real Madrid in the first leg. But seldom did the Premier League side look like stunning their La Liga opponents in the Spanish capital. Instead, they fell to a 1-0 defeat on their travels.
Liverpool’s midfield comes under fire as the intensity of Klopp’s squad fades
The Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup were already out of Liverpool’s reach before exiting the Champions League. Klopp’s squad sit sixth in the top-flight table after 26 games and rank 24 points behind leaders Arsenal. They are also six points outside of the top four.
Brighton & Hove Albion, meanwhile, kicked Liverpool out of the FA Cup in the fourth round with a 2-1 win. It marked the Seagulls’ second win over the Anfield club in all competitions in 15 days. The south coast side had also just beaten the Merseysiders 3-0 in the top-flight.
Manchester City, meanwhile, dumped the Reds out of the Carabao Cup 3-2 in the Round of 16 in December. Now, Liverpool’s only remaining aim is to finish in the Premier League top four and qualify for the Champions League. The Reds last failed to qualify back in 2016/17.
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Cundy feels losing at Real Madrid may now mark the end of an era at Anfield
Liverpool have reached the Champions League final three times and won it once since they last failed to qualify. They also won the Premier League title in 2019/20 and bounced back from their injury-plagued 2020/21 campaign to lift the FA Cup and EFL Cup during 2021/22.
Yet former Chelsea defender Cundy feels their defeat at Real Madrid may mark the end of an era at Anfield. He feels Liverpool’s performance proved that Klopp’s midfielders are no longer up to the task as they can no longer devastate clubs with their once-fierce intensity.
“The midfield, now, that high intensity [and] that turbo start that Liverpool had is gone,” Cundy has told talkSPORT. “That blistering start where they would blow teams away in the first 20 minutes.
“They’d be all over you like a rash, close you down all over the pitch, squeeze you, high energy, put you under pressure, get the first and second goal – that’s gone.
“I’ve seen Liverpool in the Champions League two, three years ago where they were absolutely sensational. They’re not like that anymore, that energy is gone. That same team, it’s not there.”
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