The Reds arguably have greater attacking depth than any team in Europe, but they're getting punished for not strengthening at the back

Danny Murphy is definitely a glass half-full kind of guy – at least when it comes to Liverpool this season. The manner of Sunday's 2-2 draw at Brighton may have been disappointing to some supporters, with the Merseysiders effectively gifting their hosts two goals, including a very soft equaliser from a set-piece with just over 10 minutes remaining.

However, former Liverpool midfielder Murphy was unequivocal in his assessment afterwards: the resurgent Reds can win the Premier League this season. "For those of you who doubted Jurgen Klopp and this Liverpool team, although they drew, they are in this title race," Murphy told 'Match of the Day 2'. "Second half, they should have had the game won.

"[There are] lots of positives: midfielders coming in and hitting the ground running, [Alexis] Mac Allister and [Dominik] Szoboszlai; the forward players are nice and competitive at the top of the pitch, meaning everyone is trying to keep each other out of the team."

Getty Images'A lot better' than expected

In fairness to Murphy, his optimism is understandable to a degree. This season has definitely started far better than the last. Eight games into the 2022-23 Premier League campaign, Liverpool had won just two games and were sitting ninth in the table with just 10 points to their name.

One year on, they sit fourth, just three points behind surprise leaders Tottenham – despite having already visited Spurs, Chelsea, Newcastle and Brighton. They have, as even Gary Neville has admitted, "been a lot better" than most people expected.

They've only been beaten once, too, and even that was in the most controversial of circumstances in north London. Indeed, had it not been for some horrendous officiating against Spurs, Liverpool really could be both undefeated and top of the table.

Still, there's absolutely no getting away from the fact that, before the season began, Klopp would have willingly accepted a 17-point haul from such a tricky run of fixtures.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesJust one clean sheet in eight games

However, the doubts that surrounded Liverpool haven't suddenly dissipated. It remains abundantly clear that for all of the good work done during the summer transfer window, Klopp still hasn't solved the defensive issues that resulted in the Reds finishing fifth last season (perhaps because he didn't get the centre-back and defensive midfielder he really wanted).

Liverpool conceded, on average, 1.24 goals per game in 2022-23; this term's figure isn't much lower (1.13), and it's both telling and deeply conceding that they've managed just one clean sheet thus far, in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa that was far more competitive than the scoreline suggests.

Indeed, one of the things that sticks out about Liverpool's games so far is how close and exciting they've been. So many of their matches really could have gone either way, with the draw at Brighton a perfect case in point.

But lest anyone forget, they've also twice managed to win games with 10 men, most notably at the home of top-four rivals Newcastle, and repeatedly had to come from behind to pick up points, with Liverpool conceding the first goal in five of the eight league outings thus far.

In that sense, Klopp and his players deserve a huge amount of credit, for their respective in-game tactical tweaks and admirable fighting spirit. Whereas last season, Liverpool looked lost as they fell behind, this season they appear completely convinced of their ability to turn the game around.

Getty ImagesAwesome attack, dismal defence

And that's perfectly explicable. Liverpool boast a depth of options in attack that is arguably unmatched not just in England but across Europe. Whenever his side is struggling, Klopp usually has two of Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo waiting to come on – all of them have proven themselves potential game-changers since arriving at Anfield – while Mohamed Salah remains the ultimate match-winner.

However, as Alan Shearer pointed out in his column for , while "the Reds are exciting to watch when they come forward, we saw again in their draw with Brighton that they concede too easily – there is something missing at the back."

Honestly, it's difficult to disagree.

Getty Images'If you get it wrong, you get punished'

The two goals conceded at Brighton really were gifts. In the first instance, Virgil van Dijk put Alexis Mac Allister in all sorts of bother with a hospital pass that the Argentine also didn't react quickly enough to claim, allowing Simon Adingra to effectively pass the ball past a stranded Alisson and into an empty net.

Van Dijk acknowledged afterwards that he had played his team-mate into trouble with "a risky ball", but argued that mistakes such as this can happen when you "play out from the back". "If you get it wrong, you get punished," the Dutch defender said matter-of-factly in his interview with "but the way we bounced back was a great reaction."

And there's no disputing that claim. Liverpool's fantastic reaction to falling behind really should have won them the game, particularly when one considers that, after Salah's quickfire double, Ryan Gravenberch (who otherwise impressed after coming on as a substitute) had hit the bar when it seemed easier to score.