Despite strong start, Liverpool are feeling Oxlade-Chamberlain absence

Liverpool sit atop the Premier League after three matches, and have yet to concede a goal, but they’re missing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The assertion that Liverpool needed to learn how to win dirty, to grind out wins, was uttered so frequently last season it became something of a cliche. Nobody could doubt the Reds’ stylistic credentials under Jurgen Klopp. Depending on your personal persuasion, they might even be the Premier League’s most attractive team to watch ahead of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

But like so many cliches, there lies an element of truth at its core. On their day, Liverpool were unplayable last season, as City found out when they made the trip to Anfield on Jan. 14; when the champions in-waiting lost their shot at an unbeaten season. But Klopp’s side followed that victory with a defeat to Swansea, the same Swansea who would go on to suffer relegation. When they played poorly, they invariably lost.

This is why Liverpool’s narrow 1-0 win over Brighton last weekend was deemed to be so significant. The Anfield side were poor, but still managed to grind out the victory. This isn’t to say Klopp shouldn’t learn lessons from his side’s performance, though. Liverpool’s display lacked something, something the injured Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would have given them.

Rather unusually, Liverpool were lethargic through the middle of the pitch. From that, their entire game suffered, with Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah all denied the service they’ve grown accustomed to over the past season or so. This is where Oxlade-Chamberlain, ruled out for the season with a knee injury, would have given them something different.

Given how influential Oxlade-Chamberlain was for Liverpool in the second half of last season, it’s remarkable the Reds haven’t felt his absence more acutely until now. Of course, the addition of Naby Keita from RB Leipzig in the summer transfer window has helped, with the Guinean impressive in his first few games for his new club. Fabinho will also mitigate the harm of losing Oxlade-Chamberlain.

But as good as both Keita and Fabinho undoubtedly are, neither is in the mould of Oxlade-Chamberlain. The former Arsenal midfielder was key in the way Liverpool opened up space in the final third against opponents in the second half of last season, picking up the ball from deep and driving to the edge of the box, engaging defenders and freeing up pockets of the pitch for others.

Brighton won’t be the first conservative team Liverpool face this season. Others will sit deep, soak up pressure and hit out on the counter-attack against the Reds, and with Oxlade-Chamberlain sat crocked in the stands, they’ll be denied one of the sharpest edges in their Swiss Army Knife of options.

It could be that Klopp comes to use Xherdan Shaqiri in the Oxlade-Chamberlain role as the season progresses. The Swiss, signed from Stoke for a bargain £13 million this summer, is a winger by trade, but can also play through the middle, possessing many of the same qualities as Oxlade-Chamberlain. With Liverpool boasting so many options in the wide areas, Shaqiri could be an effective deputy as a central driving force.

This season will be long and tough for Liverpool. They look the most likely to challenge Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table, with the cup competitions and the Champions League sure to test the Reds’ depth over the course of the campaign. Klopp will come to count on more than just his strongest starting lineup.

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s signing from Arsenal last summer was an inspired one. The 25-year-old looked out of his depth at Anfield early on, but he was soon moulded by Klopp into the perfect driving midfielder for Liverpool. The Reds will now miss him this season, and how they cope with his absence, how they compensate for what Oxlade-Chamberlain brings, will be one of the big factors that defines their title challenge.