Liverpool’s persistent weakness plays into an emerging Manchester City strength

If Liverpool are hoping to finally reverse the worrying trend that has been harming their season, they could hardly come up against worse opponents than the champions

Ibrahima Konate was at a loss. “I cannot really explain that,” he admitted after he and his teammates had suffered a chastening afternoon at the Emirates last weekend, and to be honest, it was unfair to expect him to have all the answers. The defeat to Arsenal was his first appearance of the campaign after returning from a knee injury sustained in pre-season. How was he supposed to know why Liverpool had conceded the first goal in seven of their opening 11 games?

“We have to talk to each other on the pitch and fight at the start of the game,” was Konate’s admirable effort at an explanation. A lack of focus and concentration early on in matches is as good a theory as any other offered up. “We are very sad but now we have to watch what was our mistake in this game and try to not do this again in the next game,” he added. Except, of course, they did. Scott Arfield’s opener at Ibrox in midweek made it eight games out of 12.

Stretch it back to the end of last season, when the phenomenon first started, and Liverpool have now let in the first goal in 14 of their last 19 competitive games. And that, for a side that had the joint-best defensive record in the Premier League last season. What is more peculiar still is that Liverpool are not only conceding the first goal with worrying regularity, but often with the first shot they concede too. So it was with Arfield at Ibrox, Gabriel Martinelli at the Emirates, Leandro Trossard at Anfield and Wilfried Zaha back in August.

It was the same with Nathan Redmond at St Mary’s in their penultimate Premier League game of last season and Pedro Neto for Wolves on the final day. You may remember their rather uncomfortable Champions League semi-final second leg at El Madrigal in May, when Boulaye Dia pulled one back on aggregate for Villarreal after three minutes. Since then, Liverpool have only kept four clean sheets in all competitions. When they have conceded, it has taken an average of just 21 minutes for their defence to be breached.

It is not as simple as pointing to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defending, despite the scrutiny on the right-back. The temptation – given how it is often the opposition’s first shot leads to a concession – might be to point to Alisson but Liverpool’s goalkeeper was often the one covering for defensive lapses last season. Many have questioned whether an ageing and out-of-form midfield is providing a lack of protection. But even all these factors together do not fully explain such an unusual trend.

None of it is news to Klopp and he is no closer to an answer. “How often did we now speak about that? How often? Because we conceded that often this first goal,” he said when the subject was raised once more last week. “It’s not in one of our match plans to concede the first goal. We want to be spot-on from the first second of the game. It’s one of my dreams this season for nobody to ask me about it anymore. Not because we forget it, only because we don’t do it anymore.”

That was after successfully going ahead rather than falling behind in the 2-0 win over Rangers at Anfield. Since then, the pattern has returned, and there is every chance it will extend this Sunday against a side that is wasting little time in putting rivals to the sword. If Liverpool are hoping to finally reverse the trend, they could hardly come up against worse opponents than Manchester City.

Before a 10-man City were held to a goalless draw in Copenhagen this week, the longest any team had kept Guardiola’s side out this season was 80 minutes, in their previous group-stage game against Borussia Dortmund. In the Premier League, Crystal Palace maintained a clean sheet for 53 minutes. Aston Villa held them at arm’s length for 50. No other team has made it to half-time.

Much has been made of the fact that Liverpool would be bottom of the table if games had only lasted until the interval. City would be one point off the top. It has taken the champions, on average, just 22 minutes to open the scoring. And equally, whereas Liverpool have only opened the scoring once this season in the Premier League – the fewest times of any side – City have done so in eight of their nine games, the most in the top flight.

For now, this is still a meeting between the two clubs that have dominated the last five years of English football. It is also one between slow starters and a team that leaps out the traps. The 13-point gap that already separates the two sides would suggest that City have already left a team that were supposed to be their closest challengers in the dust. If they do so again on Sunday, then Liverpool’s race could truly be run.