Liverpool's Defensive Woes Resurface in Season Opener

Jamie Carragher’s worst fears about Liverpool’s new season were realised before some fans had even found their seats.

Barely five minutes into the opener at St James’ Park, Liverpool were behind and the same old alarm bells were ringing. A loose passage of play in Newcastle’s half turned into a gaping wound. Possession coughed up, space everywhere, and William Osula did not need a second invitation.

He drove into the open grass, head up, Liverpool’s midfield and defence split apart. One simple pass released Anthony Elanga in behind, and the winger did the rest, drilling his finish past Alisson Becker. One move, one goal, and a familiar flaw laid bare again.

Carragher fumes at repeat warning ignored

Carragher had spent the build-up to the new campaign highlighting exactly this problem. Liverpool, he argued, were far too easy to slice through in midfield last season, and pre-season had offered little reassurance that anything had changed.

So when Elanga wheeled away in celebration, the former Liverpool defender went straight to X to vent his anger. His verdict was blunt:

“LFC midfield all bombing forward – happened all pre season, madness!”

It was the sort of goal that infuriates coaches and ex-pros alike. Not a moment of genius. Just a straight run, a turnover, and a team ripped open through the centre.

Old wounds, no new answers

Liverpool’s soft core was one of the defining themes of their miserable 2025/26 Premier League campaign. They shipped 53 goals in the league, a staggering total for a club with title ambitions and a goalkeeper of Alisson’s calibre.

You would expect that kind of number to trigger a clear, urgent response. A top-class defensive midfielder. A proper shield. A new spine.

Yet as of 23 August, that area of the pitch remains untouched in the transfer market. No new number 6. No specialist to plug the gaps that keep appearing between midfield and defence. The window has been open since the start of June, but the glaring hole remains.

Reports from Lewis Steele have already cooled talk of a late, big-money move for Crystal Palace’s energetic midfielder Adam Wharton, a player many supporters had latched onto as a potential solution. That dampened expectation only adds to the frustration as the same structural issues resurface on opening day.

Liverpool are pushing ahead with their pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, a move that would add flair and depth in the final third. Yet the imbalance is obvious. The need for an elite holding midfielder is every bit as urgent, perhaps more so, and the chances of finding one at a sensible price before the window shuts on Tuesday week look slim.

For now, the responsibility falls on Andoni Iraola to somehow organise what he has. He will not have enjoyed what he saw in those opening minutes on Tyneside. The conversation at half-time with his players will be sharp. The one with Richard Hughes and the recruitment team over the next 24 hours may be even sharper.

Liverpool wanted a clean break from last season’s chaos. Instead, on day one, the same old problem walked straight back through the door.