Lionel Messi would struggle in current Liverpool set-up: Michael Owen
Michael Owen, a former fan favorite at Anfield, believes that even Lionel Messi would find it difficult to make an impact at Liverpool right now, after the Reds failed to score against Chelsea at the weekend.
Just a few months after challenging for an unprecedented quadruple, Jurgen Klopp’s squad has endured a nightmare season and is miles behind the Premier League leaders.
And their winless streak continued on Saturday afternoon at Stamford Bridge with another lackluster performance.
Liverpool had a new recruit. Cody Gakpo led the line in west London, but the Blues had the better opportunities and appeared far more likely to win.
Prior to his £37 million transfer to the Premier League, Gakpo was one of Europe’s most prolific forwards, having scored 13 goals and provided 17 assists in just 24 games. Despite making four appearances for Liverpool, he has yet to score a goal.
Owen defended the 23-year-old after Gakpo’s latest blank, arguing that even Messi would have a difficult time thriving at Liverpool due to the issues that have plagued them this season.
Speaking to Premier League Productions, Owen said: “I feel sorry for him actually because he’s coming in to a team that are really inconsistent and drained of all the confidence that we’ve seen in the past.
“He had a couple of half-chances today [against Chelsea ] and it’s clear he’s trying. I’m sure he’s going to be a good signing for the future but at the moment, I would defy even Lionel Messi to come in and look good in this team because it’s really struggling.”
As a result of the draw at Stamford Bridge and other results over the weekend, Liverpool are ninth in the Premier League standings, ahead of Chelsea on goal differential.
And Klopp found numerous positives in the result, which came just one week after Liverpool’s 3-0 loss to Brighton. The German said after the game, “I liked the start of the first half and particularly the start of the second half, so that was good and we need to extend these spells.
“We had moments when we played pretty well. For me it is clear, you have to be ready to make little steps and this was a little step. I expect progress and, from the last league game, it was progress, definitely. That is important.”
Next weekend, Liverpool will have the opportunity to exact revenge on Brighton when the two teams meet at the AMEX Stadium in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Lionel Messi would struggle in current Liverpool set-up: Michael Owen
