
London, Oct 26: Bournemouth goalkeeper Asmir Begovic has questioned Liverpool's faltering back-line, suggesting that the Merseyside club's players do not have the self-confidence and don't possess the urge to be top-class defenders at the moment.
Liverpool's defence was put to the nail on last Sunday as they were swept aside 4-1 by Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley and two of their goals came because of a fault of the defensive organisation of Liverpool which eventually left them coming home with zero points.
Jurgen Klopp's side has been facing tough times this season as the Merseyside club have only won three of their last nine games and already conceded 24 goals in all competitions.
In his reign of around two years, Klopp has developed Liverpool into a top attacking team, however, he has been criticised for his failure to solve defensive problems. And former Chelsea goalkeeper and currently Bournemouth's number one, Begovic, suggested that the criticism is just appropriate and Klopp has to take the blame for this.
"I think for Liverpool it is a combination of things - communication, positioning and the desire to defend is lacking for Liverpool," the goalkeeper said on Sky Sports' The Debate show.
"They don't look organised, they don't look like they want to defend. I look at some of their players and the first thing is how good they can be on the ball, how they can pass and go forward and how the full backs can attack and join in. I don't think their first thought is defending.
"I think as a unit they look all over the place and there could be many reasons. Confidence once again is low and there are people making bad decisions so it seems to be a bit of a mess. They are not doing the basics of defending and I don't think they have the pride it takes to be a defender.
"I don't think it's one thing, I think it's them as a unit. I don't think they're working together and there's a lack of continuity with the centre-back pairings and the full-backs, I don't think changing the goalkeepers is helping."
Liverpool are currently placed at the ninth position in the league, twelve points behind league leaders Manchester City and three behind fourth-placed Chelsea. They will face Huddersfield town next, this weekend.