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One thing we can also consider is Liverpool's record against the better teams in the division. Jurgen Klopp's side have won four and drawn four of their eight games against teams in the current top six. They've beaten Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and now Tottenham. They've beaten the teams in seventh, eighth and ninth too, just for good measure. In 12 games against the current top 10, they have lost none. They are three points ahead of Chelsea in the "top six mini-league" of games between the Premier League's top sides. Impressive stuff.
With that sort of record you'd expect them to, if not be top of the table, at least be close. But they're fourth, shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of that chasing pack, 11 points shy of Chelsea at the summit. And the reason for that is how they've performed against those in the lower reaches of the table.
Three of their four defeats have come against teams looking over their shoulders towards relegation. In total they have dropped 18 points in games against Burnley, Southampton, Bournemouth, West Ham, Sunderland, Swansea and Hull. Some of those -- particularly losing at Turf Moor where Burnley have been phenomenally strong -- were not calamities, but it is at best a frustration that valuable ground has been lost. Had they saved even half of those lost points, they would be right on Chelsea's heels.
This theme is something that Klopp encountered at Dortmund, too. Between 2010-14, the season before he left Germany, they lost to Bayern only once, but dropped points against weaker teams. In each of those four seasons, they lost games to teams that finished in the relegation places. Over the two seasons they won the Bundesliga -- 2010-11 and 2011-12 -- they lost a total of eight games: one to the team that finished second, one seventh, and the rest were all to sides that ended the season in the bottom half.
Could this be a consequence of Klopp's management style? He is, to say the least, an emotional man, and shows this in how he interacts with his players. Could it be that he finds it easier to motivate players for games against tougher teams, because those games may require more motivation? This is not to say he doesn't think, or have plans for every game, but managing to stir his men is still an issue.
His tactics could be a factor, too. A big part of Klopp's gameplan is to run, run and run, to close down the opposition and, as much as anything, disrupt the other side's play as much as create their own. At least some of Klopp's plan is reactive. That is much easier to do against a side more likely to attack and make the running, as the better teams would.
Listening to the players talk, it certainly seems like they have a clearer idea of what they're supposed to be doing in those bigger encounters.
"I think it's easier for everyone to perform in those kind of games," Georginio Wijnaldum said before the win over Tottenham. "I don't think it's only me, but the whole team. It makes it easier for me because if we deliver as a team, it is easier for each player to show their quality -- and that's what I've had in the big games."
Another problem is that on occasion this season their creative players have struggled to break down teams whose instinct is to contain. Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana should probably fill that role, but for whatever reason in some games they haven't managed to pick holes in the massed ranks.
As time carries on without scoring, they're more susceptible to counterattacks and pressure being put on their still-makeshift and suspect defence. The defeat to Swansea was a good example of that. Daniel Sturridge's poor season could be part of this too. Ideally, Klopp should be able to pick Sturridge in games against weaker defences and rely on him to grab a couple of goals. As it is, the England centre-forward has only two league goals to his name this season.
Given Klopp's previous form, that might too much of an easy answer, though. The German is aware of the problem, even if he (publicly, at least) seems a little flummoxed by it. Liverpool now have a break before they come up against another struggler, Leicester, in a couple of weeks. It will be fascinating to see how they approach the tumbling champions.
"We have to prove the other thing (that Liverpool can beat the lesser sides) later in the season," Klopp said before the win over Tottenham, just after the defeat to Hull.
"We have to show it's not like this. This week we had a really good performance (against Chelsea) but obviously we didn't build on it. So we will have to take the criticism from everywhere."
By Nick Miller
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