Sunday 17 December 2017 13:56, UK
Ahead of Liverpool's Super Sunday return to the Vitality Stadium, Phil Thompson suggests last season's shock comeback defeat to Bournemouth epitomised a key flaw for the Reds.
Bournemouth came from three goals down in the final 15 minutes to win 4-3 and put a significant dent in their visitors' title challenge last December, preventing Liverpool from moving a point behind leaders Chelsea after 14 games.
Jurgen Klopp's men went on to finish 17 points behind the champions after dropping 18 points from winning positions and conceding 42 times.
They return to Bournemouth this weekend having dropped points to Watford and Chelsea via late goals this season, while a 3-3 draw at Sevilla after leading 3-0 in a Champions League group game was a worrying collapse.
Naturally, Soccer Saturday pundit Thompson hopes his former club have learnt the lessons of that defeat as they look to get back on track following successive Premier League stalemates with Everton and West Brom.
He told Sky Sports: "That game epitomised everything that went wrong last season. I remember getting a text off Paul Merson saying Liverpool looked like the Harlem Globetrotters, but I was aware, with our vulnerabilities, it was too early to start celebrating.
"Then when it went to 3-2 I got a bit anxious. In these tight grounds you can really whip up a big atmosphere and suddenly put on a lot of pressure without much possession.
"We were very delicate at the time and it was probably the big let down of the season, so we owe these lot after what happened.
"That must be in the minds of the players, to learn from what happened, keep concentration and counter-attack better, although they have more attacking options this time with Jermain Defoe, along with Josh King and Callum Wilson."
This season, the Reds have dropped the fifth-highest amount of points from winning positions in the Premier League, the same rank they held at the end of the previous campaign, and Thompson believes the problem is a mix of Klopp's relentless attacking mentality and the offensively-minded squad.
"I supposed there's a bit in Klopp's inability to adjust tactics, to see games out with the right personnel, but at the same time the attacking talent is our strength," said Thompson.
"With that strength comes an offensive mentality, whereas when Jose Mourinho gets in front he's not frightened to put Marouane Fellaini on to help them defend set-pieces.
"It is also about that lack of options, with Jordan Henderson relied upon to be our holding midfielder. What I'd like to see is him bring James Milner in to offer a bit more strength in that role.
"Emre Can likes to run with the ball which brings him out of position, as does Georginio Wijnaldum, so they need to show more discipline in those areas at certain points of the games.
"Klopp is like Pep Guardiola in believing in the principle to continue to attack. Jurgen believes in what he does and when you look at our home versus away record there's a big difference.
"For all the negativity, Liverpool have only lost two games, so it is the draws which we need to convert to wins in the battle for the top four."
