Liverpool have come a long way in footballing terms since Jurgen Klopp was appointed the manager in October last year. The Reds have made immeasurable progress since then and are now quite possibly the most exciting team in English football.
At the start of the 2016/17 season, much was expected of Klopp and his charges as the German began his first full season in the unforgiving league that is, the Premier League. However, the Reds have lived up to the expectations and in some ways, even exceeded them as they sit second on the league standings and fight for glory across their domestic competitions.
However, of late, it seems as though the attacking flair is fading as the Reds have failed to win any of their past three games in all competitions, drawing two and losing their latest game to Claude Puel's Southampton.
And now, their inconsistency and inability to see out games begs the question whether Klopp can really afford to be inclined to the occasional defensive approach or go all out and attack the opposition, no matter whom they might be facing.
The team faces the effects of 'Klopp football'
Klopp is famous for making his teams play quick football, entertaining football and also preventing the opposition from spending any amount of time on the ball with the 'high-press' style that the Reds employ to overcome their opponents.
Liverpool quickly shrugged off any early season blues and went on a brilliant winning run which was a result of the hard-work put in by the team to perfect the 'Klopp way' of football in the squad.
No matter how much the German might want to deny it, 'Klopp football' is the way ahead for Liverpool and while they may not want to work so hard for every win they achieve, it is the way they have been doing it so far this season, however this style has its own flaws which have been exposed by the opposition on a few occasions this season.
The immense focus that this style places on attacking and winning the ball back quickly means that each player in the entire team has a role to play in the build-up play leading to the goal-scoring chances being created by the team.
This involvement on the defence in chance creation also forces a very high-defensive line to be deployed by Klopp and also considering the fact that his defenders have to be comfortable with the ball at their feet to properly implement his style, Joel Matip has been an excellent player for Klopp in that sense, the Cameroonian is very comfortable on the ball and drifts in and out of midfield at times to link-up with the attackers during certain periods of games.
The high defensive line also means that Liverpool leave gaps in behind to be exploited, which is one of the major reasons for the goals they've conceded so far this season.
Klopp needs to take risks and attack, for now
Now that Liverpool are in a strong position in the league, it is important that they stay on their course and look to score more and stay on the front foot in all the games they play ahead in the rest of the season.
Although it might seem risky, Liverpool might just need to stick to their attacking philosophy and risk letting in goals in matches, however, they will not have to do the same in the coming season, if all goes well.
A top four finish will increase Liverpool's stock once again and then Klopp can bring in the top quality players he needs to strengthen his squad to what he perfectly needs to bring back the past glories to the Kop once again.
There is no doubt that the current crop is excellent as a team, although there is much to be improve, the goalkeeping conundrum seems to have gone on forever for the Reds, James Milner cannot play at left-back for the rest of his Liverpool career and the club will have to find a permanent solution to him as well.
Once the necessary investments have been made in the coming summer, one can be certain that Liverpool will be a complete team and not just one that focuses on scoring more goals than the opposition and only then can Klopp can probably find a complementary tactic to go with his evergreen 'Klopp football'.