Alberto Moreno and Liverpool back to their slapdash worst as Jurgen Klopp fails to learn lessons

Georginio Wijnaldum’s expression said it all. As the final whistle blew at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, the Liverpool midfielder could be seen shaking his head in shock and despair as he tried to make sense of what had just happened. Many of the travelling supporters appeared equally shellshocked, yet ultimately the surprise was that anyone was surprised. After all, this was classic Liverpool – great going forward, gruesome in defence. A 3-0 lead thrown away and an important test failed.

Jürgen Klopp had described Liverpool’s encounter with Sevilla as the game in terms of assessing just how mature his side had become since losing 4-1 to Tottenham Hotspur a month ago. That hammering was a watershed moment as far as he was concerned, his side sunk by their own sloppiness, and not for the first time. Enough was enough – improvements were required. And they came.

In their four subsequent matches Liverpool scored 13 times and, crucially, conceded once. Defensively they were stronger, through tactical tweaks and greater personal responsibility. However, the opposition – Huddersfield Town, Maribor, West Ham United and Southampton – were hardly the strongest and so critics could still deem themselves unconvinced. Hence the importance of Sevilla – La Liga’s fifth-placed team and one that had not lost in 25 matches on home soil. Overcome them with style and sturdiness and Liverpool could claim to have turned a corner post-Tottenham. Instead, they appear to be back where they started.

To concede once after taking a 3-0 lead can be deemed unfortunate. To concede twice, sloppy. To concede three times, well … that’s Liverpool, and particularly so given the nature of the goals; two resulting from individual errors and one, Guido Pizarro’s equaliser in added time, from the visitors’ failure to clear a corner. It is the tragicomedy that keeps on repeating and only serves as further proof that for all the progress Liverpool have made under Klopp, they remain short of what is required to be proper contenders for the proper prizes.

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It should be noted that a draw is not a disaster – Liverpool still top Group E and require a point against Spartak Moscow on 6 December to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages. On a broader level, it can also be argued that Liverpool’s defensive frailties have been overblown. Yes, the 16 goals they have conceded in six Premier League away games is the worst in the division, but they are not a side who are constantly under the cosh. As Opta’s statistics for the current top-flight season show, they have faced the second-fewest shots (91) and the fourth-fewest on target (39). They have also conceded only five goals in nine home games in all competitions.

Liverpool tend to dominate possession so do not tend to come under significant danger from the opposition. The problem is that when they do they tend to concede. No team gives you a chance quite like Liverpool, as was on show for all to see in Andalusia.

The collapse appeared on as soon as Wissam Ben Yedder pulled one back on 51 minutes and Alberto Moreno was at fault. The Spanish left-back has been consistently good this season having been dropped during the previous campaign after one slapdash display too many. But, back at his boyhood club, Moreno was well and truly back to his worst. The hosts’ first goal resulted from him charging out of position and then, having returned to where he should have been, needlessly fouling Pablo Sarabia. Éver Banega swung in the free-kick and Ben Yedder did the rest.

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Nine minutes later Moreno was at it again, losing sight of the ball before tripping Ben Yedder for a clear penalty, which the striker converted at the second attempt.

Moreno was substituted soon afterwards but Liverpool’s defensive malaise did not end there. As Klopp said, they stopped playing football, retreating far too deep and failing to get to grips with Banega, Sevilla’s principal playmaker.

There was a severe lack of organisation and discipline, all the good work of the first half, when Roberto Firmino struck twice either side of a goal from Sadio Mane, undone in self-inflicting fashion. It had been a similar case when Liverpool lost to Sevilla in the 2016 Europa League final: 1-0 up at half-time; 3-1 down come the end. Some teams never learn.

Before Saturday’s visit of Chelsea there will be more talk of a lack of leaders and a lack of quality within Klopp’s ranks and it will be hard for he and others to argue otherwise. This was Liverpool’s chance to show genuine maturity. Instead, they yet again played like lost boys.