Liverpool vs Huddersfield Town, 5 Talking Points
It was a strange 90 minutes when Liverpool hosted Huddersfield Town at Anfield earlier today. The Reds -- mauled by the efficient counter-attacking Tottenham side last weekend -- started slowly and it was only in the second half that they put three past the away side to seal a resounding win.
Liverpool's defence was the main talking point before the game began as Dejan Loren was named on the teamsheet alongside Joel Matip, but to everyone's surprise in the stadium and those watching on the telly, he didn't start the game after picking up a thigh injury during the warm-up.
Goals from Daniel Sturridge, Roberto Firmino and Gini Wijnaldum settled the tie for Liverpool as Huddersfield rarely threatened the home side's goal. Here are the main talking points from the game.
#5 Liverpool's low confidence showed in the first half
Coming into the game after a tough result against Tottenham, Liverpool needed a fast start. They had anything but that. If you slept through the first half, you can be forgiven. Huddersfield played a compact game at the back, just like last weekend, but unlike the clash against Manchester United, they did little to trouble Liverpool on the break.
Liverpool made a few changes, some of which were forced, and they struggled to find any sort of rhythm in the attacking third.
The duo of Roberto Firmino and Daniel Sturridge are good players to have up front, but the creativity was missing. Liverpool rarely shifted the ball to the wide areas and Moreno and Gomez were pretty ineffective in the final third as Huddersfield were happy to play narrow at the back.
The second half saw the team play with more intensity and a more direct approach. The biggest change was perhaps the latter as they tried to finish off moves quicker, something that they didn't do in the first half by dwelling too much on the ball and passing it around in the middle.