Day off cancelled and individual meetings – how Hasenhüttl has prepared for Liverpool

16 August 2019 02:30
The Austrian says he does not want to be nasty but adds that it was ‘100% necessary’ to be critical after the Burnley defeatThis week Ralph Hasenhüttl was inevitably asked how his players will navigate past Virgil van Dijk and, given only Leroy Sané managed to dribble beyond the Dutchman across 56 games for club and country last season, there is no masking the size of that task. Van Dijk will line up against his former club for Liverpool at St Mary’s on Saturday, and the absence of a commanding defender remains a pertinent issue for which they are yet to find a solution.The decision to operate with three centre-backs more often than not has failed to shore up a defence that kept seven clean sheets in 38 league matches, with Jan Vestergaard, Jan Bednarek and Jack Stephens the latest combination that struggled to convince on the opening day at Burnley. Related: Ashley Barnes at the double as Burnley brush aside Southampton Related: Premier League 2019-20 preview No 16: Southampton Continue readingreadfullarticle

Source: TheGuardian