"Consistency is the only way to be successful,"Liverpoolmanager Jurgen Kloppsaid before the Reds'Premier League opener away to Arsenal last Sunday, according to the Guardian.But following that 4-3 victory at the Emirates Stadium with a 2-0 defeat to newly promoted Burnley on Saturday afternoon, the Reds served up the opposite of consistency."All of these big jumps in performance, up and down, dont help," the manager had continued to explain. "Its possible because we are all human beings and things can happen that should not happen too often."As Klopp attested, there are variables out of his control that will lead to inconsistency within the performances of his Liverpool sidebut a self-imposedconsternation at left-back is not one of those.Goals from Sam Vokes and Andre Gray sealed a priceless win for Sean Dyche's Clarets, with the Reds producing little in terms of incision in response, and there were troubling elements across the field, as Klopp's 4-3-3 system struggled to make its mark.But such was the focus before the game, Klopp's decision to field James Milner in place of Alberto Moreno at left-back serves as the most prominent talking point from this latest Liverpool defeat.The 30-year-old, deployed in an unnatural role, failed to convince as a solution to Klopp's left-back woes, and with just 11 days left of the summer transfer window on this disappointing loss, Milner's role in Sunday's result may have come at a crucial juncture.Continuing his pre-season address, Klopp highlighted the need for his Liverpool side to be "independent," and not be troubled by the varying styles of play of their Premier League opposition:Its thePremier Leagueand your own shape is only one of the things that is important, the shape of the other team is pretty important too.Thats what weve tried to do in pre-seasonto be more independent to the style of play of the other team. If they defend deep, we cannot change itwe cannot say, "come on, its boring, give us a little bit of space to play".If they only play counter-attack, if they play high-pressure, all that stuff, you need to always have a solution. Thats what we were working on.While opening-day opponents Arsenal may play more expansive, progressive football, and Liverpool will face off against similar sides throughout the campaign, there will be plenty of other challenges along the way: Leicester City's incisive counter-attacking play, Crystal Palace's direct, width-based approach, and Burnley's low block are three examples.Speaking to Sky Sports before the game, Klopp acknowledged that Burnley "have a specific style of play, and they stick to this plan," later resolving that "we need to be ready for this."Unfortunately, this failed to be the case, and a dogmatic approach from the German played a significant part in Liverpool's failure.Despite injury to key winger Sadio Mane, Klopp stuck with the same 4-3-3 as in Sunday's victory at the Emirates, merely replacing the Senegalese with Daniel Sturridge, who started out of position on the right flank.Simon Mignolet kept his place in goal, behind Nathaniel Clyne, Dejan Lovren, Ragnar Klavan and Milner, while Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana started in a three-man midfield.Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino joined Sturridge as Klopp's attacking trio, but despite the smorgasbord of quality on show, Liverpool were unable to break Burnley down in Lancashire.Vokes' early strike, capitalising on sloppy play from Clyne and poor positioning from Klavan, compounded this, making the Reds' afternoon more difficult in chasing an equaliser, while Gray's strike on 37 minutes heaped the pressure onand, as the Press Association's Carl Markham revealed at full-time, their contribution sealed a statistically unlikely win:Liverpool were flimsy at the back and uninspiring moving forward, and whileKlopp and his backroom staff will highlight a number of flawed displays as theyanalyse this performance ahead of Tuesday's EFL Cup clash with Burton Albion, Milner's input at left-back crystallised this miserable performance throughout.Defensively, Milner found himself under little pressure throughout, with Burnley winger George Boyd more focussed on his off-ball work, pressing the Liverpool midfield and snuffing out loose balls before threading passes through for Gray whenever possible.But with the Reds' vice-captain registering just one successful tackle, one block, no interceptions, no clearances and no aerial duels won, it was clear that he could have contributed more to the overall effort.This is particularly salient given the troubled performance of left-sided centre-back Klavan alongside him, with the Estonia captain struggling to settle into the game against a pair of tough, hardworking centre-forwards.For example, Gray's goal came with Klavan failing to win the ball with a front-footed challenge on the halfway line, and with Milner stranded in a similar position, failing to track back as Burnley countered, the Clarets' No. 7 was able to charge forward and beat Mignolet from range.Confused between his duties at the back and clear instruction to surge forward with overlapping runs to thwart Burnley's low block, Milner found himself caught in two minds throughout.Unfortunately, when he received the ball in the attacking third, a weakness with his left foot hampered any momentum built from the likes of Coutinho and Lallana, with Milner consistently shifting the ball onto his right in an effort to deliver a cross.The ex-England international attempted 10 crosses at Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon, with just one proving accuratea statistic that highlights his inefficiency in the role moving forward, and something that Klopp clearly acknowledged, replacing Milner with Moreno on the 79th-minute mark:But substituting Milner and introducing his only natural left-back in Moreno proved that Liverpool's weakness in this area remains a lesson to be learned for Kloppwith time running out to find a "solution."Addressing widespread criticism of Moreno after Sunday's clash with Arsenal, a game in which the Spaniard conceded a penalty and played a key role in Gunners forward Theo Walcott scoring the opener, Klopp stressed that he wasn't desperate to sign a new left-back this summer:If we would have found the perfect fit, with all the things aroundits not about money, only playing style, defending skills, offensive skills, technical thingsif we could have found this then you would have known because we would have made the transfer.We have a lot of players, in our opinion, who can play in our style of play at left-full-back.[...]We can take another one, but only if hes the guy we want.Klopp listed Moreno, Milner, Clyne and Klavan as options for the left-back role throughout 2016/17, but none of this quartet will fill the Liverpool support with contentment; and this elusive "perfect fit" will grow more frustrating as the season plays out.Whether playing an out-of-position Milner or a defensively questionable Moreno, Liverpool will seemingly continue to struggle at left-back unless a solution is found in the transfer marketwith Saturday's substitution possibly a sign that Klopp has accepted this, however reactionary this may seem.Bleacher Report's Dean Jones has recently suggestedthatChelsea are pursuing a 20 million move for Cologne's Germany international Jonas Hector, and the 26-year-old could be this "perfect fit."Elsewhere, VfL Wolfsburg's Ricardo Rodriguez would be an ideal, if unlikely target, while Hull City's Andrew Robertson is a young talent Klopp could mould into this front-footed role in the Liverpool back four.Despite the 49-year-old's insistence that a replacement for Moreno as first-choice left-back is yet to emerge in the transfer market, Liverpool sorely need to find one.Klopp's failed experiment with Milner in the problem left-back position against Burnley should magnify thisas the clock continues to tick this summer.Jack Lusby will be covering Liverpool throughout 2016/17 as one of Bleacher Report's lead correspondents. Statistics via WhoScored.com, all quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated.Follow him on Twitter@jacklusby_and Facebookhere.
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