Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool's defensive issues in their shock 3-2 loss at Fulham on Sunday were partly caused by the team's lack of a left-footed centre-back, which he claims is something the club has struggled with for years.
Liverpool slumped to just their second Premier League defeat of the season as Fulham struck three times in 14 first-half minutes to boost their own European ambitions with a 3-2 win on Sunday.
Speaking on Monday Night Football on Sky Sports, club legend Jamie Carragher dissected the sequence, focusing on a crucial moment where Virgil van Dijk was pressured into a poor pass. "The reason Fulham have forced it to Van Dijk is... and something Liverpool have always lacked... is a left-footed centre-back," he explained.
He continued: "If Van Dijk was a left-footed centre-back, he could have played a long-range pass to Salah, who was in space. Instead, because he's on his left foot, he makes a shorter pass to Andy Robertson, who then tries a cross-field pass but gets it wrong."
Carragher added: "It's a scenario that clearly highlights how a left-footed centre-back with Van Dijk's quality could have avoided this mistake, and it ultimately led to a nightmare for Liverpool."