According to former defender Jamie Carragher, Liverpool lacks the ability to counter-attack effectively like Manchester City, and they need a defensive midfielder and a top-class defender if they want to compete for the Premier League title.

Liverpool has failed to win their last four away matches against newly promoted teams, drawing 1-1 against Luton Town in the 11th round of the Premier League. As a result, Liverpool couldn’t take advantage of Arsenal’s slip-up and Tottenham’s late match against Chelsea on November 6 to climb to second place.

Carragher believes that Liverpool is not capable of challenging for the Premier League title because they don’t counter-attack well like Manchester City. “Liverpool always have the advantage in ball possession but they don’t control the ball as well as Manchester City, as they lose possession too many times,” he commented. “As a result, opponents seem to find more spaces, attack, and exploit the gaps behind Liverpool. Luton punished Liverpool in such a situation.”

In the match at Kenilworth Road on November 5, Liverpool dominated with 74% ball possession, had 24 attempts with 6 shots on target compared to Luton Town’s 8 attempts and 5 shots on target.

However, Jurgen Klopp’s team wasted chances and paid the price in the 80th minute. From a counter-attack, Issa Kabore crossed the ball for substitute midfielder Tahith Chong, who scored with a one-touch finish to beat Alisson Becker. Prior to that, the away defense was warned when Chiedozie Ogbene dribbled past two players and created an opportunity for Carlton Morris to face Alisson Becker.

It wasn’t until the fifth minute of stoppage time that Liverpool equalized with a close-range header from Luis Diaz. With 94 minutes and 40 seconds, this was Liverpool’s latest equalizing goal in the Premier League since Divock Origi’s goal in the 95th minute and 24 seconds against West Ham in December 2015.

Liverpool had a turbulent summer with the departures of James Milner, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, and Roberto Firmino. On the other hand, Liverpool only strengthened their midfield with four new signings: Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, and Wataru Endo.

According to Carragher, Liverpool has improved their midfield compared to last season but still lacks a top-class defensive midfielder. The 45-year-old former Liverpool defender also believes that his former club needs a top-class defender who can play multiple positions in the defense to create balance when Trent Alexander-Arnold moves forward with the ball.

“Liverpool wants to get back into the top four. If they want to compete for titles, I think they need a defensive midfielder and a top-class defender,” emphasized Carragher, who has a strong connection with Liverpool throughout his career.

After shining with a superb goal from outside the penalty area to help Liverpool beat Bournemouth 2-1 in the League Cup round of 16 midweek, Darwin Nunez disappointed against Luton Town. The Uruguayan forward had the most shots in the game with nine attempts, including a one-on-one shot hitting the crossbar in the first half and a sky-high shot over the empty goal in the second half.

According to Carragher, Nunez is a dangerous forward who can play in various positions and has performed well since the start of the season, but he needs to be more composed and precise in one-on-one situations to avoid becoming a laughingstock on social media.

Meanwhile, Klopp defended his player by stating that Liverpool as a whole lacked luck. “Nunez had more shots than half of Liverpool’s total attempts, and that shows his contribution to our style of play,” said the German coach. “But it’s also not good enough for the attacking quality of Liverpool, and we need to combine more. This is not the result we expected, but we have to accept it.”