Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson makes admission over problem ‘killing’ Liverpool that rivals clubs may take note of

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson makes admission over problem ‘killing’ Liverpool that rivals clubs may take note of

Jordan Henderson admitted Liverpool struggled with several moments during their 3-2 Premier League win over Nottingham Forest

Liverpool certainly worked hard to win against Nottingham Forest, but they finally got it.

It took a Mohamed Salah goal to seal a 3-2 win on Saturday as Liverpool moved up to sixth in the Premier League table. Twice Diogo Jota had given the Reds the lead, only for Forest to equalize shortly after each shot.

While it was certainly a valuable three points, Jurgen Klopp will know it was far from a perfect performance. Aside from the two goals conceded, Liverpool struggled with several opposition-induced moments.

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson later admitted that the long throws from Forest were “killing” the Reds. It was Henderson who was involved in a small fracas on the touchline when the visitors were awarded a throw-in shortly after Salah’s goal.

“Yeah, we made it difficult, [it’s] never easy with us but we managed to get the job done, which was the most important thing,” Henderson told Liverpool’s club website.

Milner and Andy Robertson ahead of Liverpool’s game against Nottingham Forest (Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

“Obviously the long throws were killing us a little bit so that’s something we need to be better at, definitely, especially off the second ball off them. But hopefully we can learn from that and there was no damage done with the three points in the end.

Henderson added: “We knew we were going to have to be patient, we knew they would be [in a] low block and make it difficult, man-v-man marking mostly, which is always a challenge.

“But you’ve got to try to be patient and wait for the right moment. We had one or two half-chances in the first half where we could have probably took the lead but it’s about keep doing the right things and being patient in the second half to finally get the breakthrough, which we did.

“But then from then on we can improve and probably should have gone on to win the game comfortably in the end.”

Liverpool still has seven Premier League matches left to play this season, and you would be surprised if none of their future opponents take note of their struggles with long throw-ins.

Of course, opposing teams will always make their own analysis of Liverpool before facing them. And had they been looking to victory over Forest, it wouldn’t have taken long to see how much the Reds struggled with Niakhaté’s long throw-ins.

With Henderson himself admitting that he’s grappling with Liverpool, it’s becoming increasingly likely that other teams will do the same in the foreseeable future. And when that happens, Liverpool need to make sure they handle it much better than they did against Forest.

Liverpool conceded twice in those situations and could have conceded more on another day. If you go into a game where you have to score three goals to win, you’re not going to get many wins coming no matter who you’re playing.

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Liverpool could have another transfer opportunity for Jude Bellingham as Sadio Mane could not help Bayern Munich

While the fate of this season’s Bundesliga title hangs in the balance, hopes of Jude Bellingham making it to Liverpool may not have died yet.

Sadio Mane put his recent woes behind him by scoring his first goal in 10 Bayern Munich appearances on Saturday, but that is where the good news for the German champions ended.

Former Liverpool great Mane has been at the center of controversy in recent weeks after being fined $388,000 (£312,000/€350,000) by his own club and dropped from the squad at last Saturday’s match for allegedly punching the team-mate Leroy Sane after Bayern’s 3-0 Champions League quarter-final defeat by Manchester City.

The Senegalese forward was back in the squad and on the scoresheet against Mainz this weekend, but it proved to be only consolation as Jürgen Klopp’s former club won 3-1 to open up their Bundesliga title race.

Bayern’s league rivals Borussia Dortmund made full use of the mistake to produce an impressive 4-0 home win against Eintracht Frankfurt. The result puts Die Schwarzgelben one point ahead of Thomas Tuchel’s team with five rounds to go. One of Dortmund’s goalscorers was long-time Liverpool goal Jude Bellingham, who opened the home side’s account in the 19th minute. After months of speculation, the Reds recently abandoned their imminent search for the in-demand midfield teenager, preferring instead to invest in a slew of new players this summer who could help reshape Klopp’s fading squad.

But the outcome of the German championship and Bellingham’s role in it could keep hopes of Bellingham eventually moving to Anfield.

Despite being one of the most sought-after players in Europe, Bellingham is under contract with Dortmund until 2025 and is at the peak of his career. Should the 19-year-old help lead his club to their first Bundesliga title since 2012, his hero status in Germany will only grow and the England international may decide he’d rather continue his adventure at Dortmund for a while longer (via the Liverpool Echo). That would be good news for Liverpool, who effectively ruled out a move this summer.

A recent report from The Times supports that theory, suggesting Bellingham could be happy to stay on for another season rather than “being pushed into a decision that isn’t quite right”.

Manchester City, Manchester United and Real Madrid are among the other big clubs who have led the race with Liverpool for his signature, but if the star midfielder is not yet ready to put his golden moment in German football behind him it could be for the best Be news for Klopp and the Reds who are trying to play the long game for a player with the best years of his career still far ahead.

Liverpool.com says: Liverpool’s decision to forego a move to Bellingham this summer was disappointing for fans, but the sheer size of the transfer fee involved made it entirely logical. But if the England star is happy to stay for now while enjoying the fruits of his labor in Germany, the Reds could still emerge victorious in the end.