London (AFP)

At the top of her group, Liverpool has the knockout stages of the Champions League in sight. But his lack of defensive solidity worries before facing the amazing firepower of Salzburg on Tuesday (18:55), in a dangerous move for the defending champion.

Not to concede a goal has become too rare for the Reds. "I had forgotten what it was, to be honest, it's great, we should do it more often," joked Jürgen Klopp on Saturday, after his team's 3-0 win against Bournemouth, the first time they has preserved his cage in 14 games.

Despite an almost perfect course in the league, it was only the third clean sheet in 16 days for Liverpool, which had recorded 21 in total last season. And in the Champions League, the winner of the 2018 edition is still waiting for his first goal-scoring match ...

"The next match where a clean + sheet would be useful is just waiting for us, against Salzburg on Tuesday," said Klopp.

However, there is not much incentive for optimism from this point of view, starting with the many absences that weaken the Reds.

The Cameroonian Joel Matip, usual partner of Virgil van Dijk in the axis of the defense, struggles with a problem at one knee since October.

- Salzburg, best attack -

His regular replacement since, Dejan Lovren, gave satisfaction, but he went limping Saturday and is uncertain, which would leave Joe Gomez valid to complete the hinge. A notch above, it is the Brazilian Fabinho, metronome of the midfield, which misses the call and which will not return until 2020.

Liverpool has already had a taste of the offensive power of his opponent in the first leg where he led 3-0 after 36 minutes before being joined at 3-3 on the hour.

A goal from Mohamed Salah in the 69th had allowed him to have the last word (4-3), but this warning will be present in the minds of players when entering the field of the Austrians, who are going through this phase groups without the least complex.

And why would they feed them, by the way? They have the best attack of the group with 16 goals, or 3.2 goals per game average, against 11 goals scored for the English.

- The Haaland threat -

In all competitions, the average exceeds 3.6 goals per game with 87 goals in 24 games.

The danger has even one face: Herling Braut Haaland, solid guy of 1.91 m and 87 kilos who, at 19, has found the net on 28 occasions in 21 matches, including 8 in C1, and already panicking appetites large teams, including Premier League.

"It's not the only threat in Salzburg, but it's a good one," Klopp admitted before the first leg. The Norwegian had started on the bench at Anfield, which did not stop him from scoring the equalizer just four minutes into the game.

Japan's Takumi Minamino and Korea's Hwang Hee-chan also gave a lot of trouble to the Reds defense in the first leg.

Should we worry for the titleholder? Jürgen Klopp thinks no.

"Anyway we went to Salzburg to win, even if we had been qualified," he said after the match against Naples.

With a team that scored five goals for Everton and three goals for Bournemouth in a week, while giving the impression of not forcing and leaving frames at rest, Liverpool has the answer in front of ... provided do not flinch behind.

© 2019 AFP