When the going gets tough, the tough are supposed to get going. But are there enough leaders in this Liverpool team?
It’s a question worth asking given the situation the Reds find themselves in at present.
Dominik Szoboszlai is certainly one who stepped up in that regard against Tottenham and then fronted up to the media after the match.
I wasn’t thrilled to see him at right-back given two other players of that position were starting elsewhere in the team, and I’ve previously said he should be in midfield where he has been our best player this season.
But other than Virgil van Dijk, has there really been much leadership elsewhere?
Alexis Mac Allister has lost a lot of what he had last season, while Ryan Gravenberch has not been the same player. And in truth the midfield has been a bit of an issue and was again on Sunday.
Wataru Endo showed against Sunderland how he can lead and he would definitely have done a job in recent weeks.
But other previous leaders have either not been playing regularly – such as Andy Robertson – or have been unable to lead by example as much as in the past, such as Mohamed Salah and, to a lesser extent, Alisson Becker. Our experienced players in particular need to stand up and been counted.
To be fair, Alisson was our best player on Sunday alongside Rio Ngumoha.
I’m not one for getting carried away with youngsters and I’m not going to start now. Ngumoha is still a baby and you could see against Tottenham he had moments of inexperience.
But he’s a bright light on a bit of a sinking ship at the moment. There hasn’t been much excitement for the Liverpool crowd this season and you could feel the buzz around the stadium whenever he had the ball.
He should really have stayed on for longer. When he was playing he was pushing Tottenham back with his pace, and when he went off it allowed the Londoners to start creeping forward again.
I know Arne Slot has to be careful with Ngumoha but right now he shouldn’t be bothered about that. Here’s a player who can make a positive difference and, similar to Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney, if they’re good enough then they’re old enough.
Nobody can deny the Anfield atmosphere has been disappointing for the most part this season. But when everybody is on form both on and off the pitch, then anything is possible.
And the home crowd can help Liverpool win through to the Champions League quarter-finals this week.
Our player were definitely affected by the atmosphere in the first leg against Galatasaray in Istanbul.
But there won’t be any away fans at Anfield and now it’s the turn of Reds supporters to get behind their team and show what a difference proper backing can make for Arne Slot’s side.
The players are definitely going to need them. We had two big chances to score before Galatasaray did and after that we really didn’t hurt them enough.
Indeed, as against Tottenham, it’s worrying the amount of times we have a good counter-attack and play completely the wrong pass or lack the quality to execute the right one.
We need to improve that on Wednesday. And everyone needs to step up.
Ian Doyle has covered Liverpool for more than 25 years, following them across Europe in multiple Champions League and Europa League finals and as far afield as Thailand, Singapore, the United States, Hong Kong and Qatar, and has reported on the Reds winning every major honour. He previously also covered Everton for 18 years and has followed England, reporting on the European Championships and World Cup final. Once had to tell Jude Law he does not drive a Mini.
