The question on the lips of football fans everywhere: what on Earth happened at Vicarage Road at the weekend?
Liverpool losing a league game at all looked unthinkable. Liverpool losing a league game by three clear goals, to a team who started the day in the relegation zone, quite simply defied the laws of physics.
Or maybe it didn't. Liverpool are phenomenal, of course, but this defeat was no fluke; it was the result of Watford playing a blinder, and taking advantage of a number of evident chinks in the armour of the champions-elect.
Here are four of them.
The Lack of Jordan Henderson
Liverpool's midfield has always been the unexplainable variable of their success; selflessly serving its purpose without ever really grabbing the headlines. Heavily featuring Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum, with James Milner dropping in for a visit every now and then, on paper at least, the engine room has generally looked out of place in its world class surroundings.
But it has worked for Jurgen Klopp; more than worked, in fact. Fabinho holding the baseline with two relentless hard workers just ahead of him has been the magic formula, the perfect nucleus for a team which, after all, needs no more eccentricity.
Except without Henderson, it's not perfect. With the captain out of the team for the first time since early December, they struggled against West Ham at Anfield, but got away with one. They got away with nothing against Watford, as they were overrun in the middle by Abdoulaye Doucoure and Will Hughes, neither Wijnaldum or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain able to step up and provide the drive they were missing.
Had Henderson's presence and leadership been at the beating heart on Saturday, Liverpool might not have won the game, but they certainly wouldn't have folded so submissively. Of all the midfielders currently in Klopp's ranks, only Milner has the personality to fill the Henderson-shaped void; so don't be surprised to see him recalled in the weeks ahead.
The Presence of Dejan Lovren
Some of the defending on show on Saturday served as a sobering reminder of a bygone era. An archaic time before Alisson, Virgil van Dijk and the invention of the wheel, when Liverpool's defence was more deflated balloon than Ballon d'Or.
Dejan Lovren wasn't the sole perpetrator for the momentary return to that long forgotten form, but let's face it; he is not good enough for Liverpool in this moment in time. The way he misjudged Adam Masina's throw-in as it bounced over his head to Abdoulaye Doucoure, the way he watched passively as Ismaila Sarr was slipped in behind, the way he crumbled pathetically to the turf under the slightest challenge from Troy Deeney.
Virgil won 100% of his aerial duels. 90% pass completion, including one key pass. No errors.
— Ben D'Arcy (@ben_darcy) February 29, 2020
Next to him Lovren only won 46% of his aerial duels. Made DOZENS of errors leaping out of position and missing balls.
Virgil spent the game tidying up his mess.
He was good enough once, but the Reds' rapid ascent to the height of the European game has challenged a number of stars to sink or swim. Henderson exploded into a forward crawl, Wijnaldum effortlessly spun into a backstroke; Lovren tread water for a while, but has sunk like a stone.
Exposed Wide Areas
It's not the first time this season that we've seen Trent Alexander-Arnold, and to a lesser extent Andy Robertson, caught in a different postal code to their assigned position. It's the price you pay for their attacking influence, and not something Klopp will wilfully discourage; it works more often than it doesn't, and generally, the duo get the balance of attack and defence just right.
On Saturday, however, they didn't. They really didn't. With an astonishing lack of cover from anyone ahead of them, both players will have nightmares about Ismaila Sarr and Roberto Pereyra driving into the space vacated by their own rampaging runs forward, the former in particular using it to devastating effect.
It goes to show just what can be accomplished against Liverpool if you are utterly fearless, and fortunate enough to catch them on an off day. Watford looked Liverpool in the eye and didn't flinch; they focused on their own game-plan and stuck to it. And when they sensed blood dripping from the gaping wounds in the full-back areas, they pounced, and took an unthinkable three points for their efforts.
Long-Ball Woes
Such is the height of Liverpool's press that there will always be space available in behind their back four. With a combination of their own defensive pace, positional intelligence, and their ability to deny their opponents the time and composure to pick out an accurate long-range pass, they can usually offset the threat.
There had been the odd sign here and there of opponents taking advantage, but Liverpool had won 26 of their 27 games, and seemed to have it all sussed. That's until Watford had a go at them.
Time and again long balls sailed in behind Van Dijk and Lovren, and while you'd expect the latter to be caught cold, the former looked like a shadow of himself; uncharacteristically unsettled and unsure whether to step out or stick with Deeney.
It's something Liverpool might have to get to grips with. It looked here as if they could have dropped off five or ten yards against aggressive opposition, but believed unerringly, and to their detriment, that they would get off with it again.
It's a splash of water on the face of a team who, not without evidence, had come to believe they were unbeatable. Atlético Madrid and now Watford have shown that is not the case, however, so it's time to up the ante for a big finish to the season.
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Source : 90min