Liverpool were undone by poor defending again as Sevilla snatched a Champions League draw... so will Jurgen Klopp’s failure to sign Virgil van Dijk prove costly this season?

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It was on June 7 that Liverpool released their startling statement apologising to Southampton for speculation surrounding Virgil van Dijk and ending 'any interest in the player'.

Reading between the lines, Liverpool may have harboured hopes that ultimately a deal for Van Dijk could be reprised later in the window. But taken at face value, it left 85 days for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool's recruitment team to pinpoint and pursue an alternative option to reinforce central defence.

Clearly it was an area of the team identified as in need of strengthening. Klopp had by widespread belief met Van Dijk, convincing the Dutchman of Anfield's allure, and Liverpool were ready to commit £60million at a stage in the summer before money lost all meaning. A move appeared imminent. That was until Southampton got wind and stood firm in a conviction Van Dijk would no be sold.

Liverpool got off to the worst possible start when Wissam Ben Yedder slid the ball home

Dejan Lovren (centre) slipped to allow Ben Yedder to score Sevilla's first goal

Liverpool tried and failed to complete a deal for Southampton's Virgil van Dijk in the summer

Liverpool went to that significant trouble because Van Dijk is a very good player of strong mentality who would elevate Klopp's side at a stroke. Yet it cannot be that it was Van Dijk or nothing, Dutch or bust.

Having realised Southampton were in no mood to do business in early June, Liverpool still had two and a half months to switch targets, to look at who else might slot into a backline in need of upgrading.

Michael Keane did not sign for Everton until the start of July, for example. Liverpool had weighed up a bid before going for Van Dijk and though Manchester United looked in the driving seat in early June, Victor Lindelof's arrival to Old Trafford changed the landscape. It was Everton though, who pushed hard for Keane and got their man.

Antonio Rudiger joined Chelsea on July 9, Manchester City signed three full-backs in the middle of that month, and Tottenham even found time to bring in Davinson Sanchez in August. Not all these players would have been right for Liverpool. None perhaps.

There seemed to be no real attempt at a plan B after they missed out on Van Dijk

After the Sevilla draw, Jurgen Klopp said Liverpool need to learn to 'not give easy goals'

But the point is that there was ample room for them to address an area that has been crying out for proper authority ever since Klopp took the reins in October 2015.

On Liverpool's Champions League return against Sevilla, that undeniable truth was again in evidence. Liverpool ought to have won the game and would have done but for the concession of two goals that could have been avoided.

For the first, Dejan Lovren erred gravely when trying to clear Sergio Escudero's cross, allowing Wissam Ben Yedder a tap-in. Mistakes can be made by anyone, but this is not the first offence by Lovren and it was a glaring moment of mistiming.

For Sevilla's second, Liverpool failed to react to a quick throw-in and though the ensuing move was slick, Joaquin Correa benefitted from Alberto Moreno making an odd movement backwards to guard an imagined threat and allow space in the middle of the area.

Liverpool's attack is devastating because of its unpredictability but that same quality makes for a porous defence. It was the same at Watford, when some scrambled set-piece organisation created chaos and a 3-3 draw, while at Manchester City the 5-0 scoreline cannot easily be explained away as due to Sadio Mane's first-half red card.

The Liverpool side slowly line up for their team photo ahead of the Sevilla game

Joaquin Correa was left with the freedom of Liverpool penalty area to curl in the second

Yes, Pep Guardiola's side are the worst possible team to face with only 10 men. But as an attacker Mane's absence only limited Liverpool's offensive capacity, mainly through counters. The general defensive shape should not have been altered to an extent that justified such a collapse at the Etihad. Midfield and defence should have been more compact to limit the opportunities for City to run in behind.

Klopp takes ultimate responsibility for that. The way he sends out his team to attack with verve is bold and thrilling, but is enough work done on the more mundane aspects of the game?

The German's selections are open to scrutiny on that basis also. Ragnar Klavan replaced Lovren at City and failed to impress, struggling to deal with Gabriel Jesus in particular. Klavan is a 31-year-old who spent four years at Augsburg before joining Liverpool last summer for a modest £4.2m. The price-tag and career history suggested back-up player, but instead he is vying with Joel Matip and Lovren for a starting berth.

It is a shallow pool of not great quality, it must be said. Mamadou Sakho, probably Liverpool's best defender at the time, was not considered since falling out with Klopp last summer and subsequently sold to Crystal Palace. Joe Gomez is a huge talent and natural centre-back but he is only 20 and currently operating at right-back.

Klopp also needs to make a definitive decision on what he wants to do with his goalkeepers

The draw against Sevilla comes just days after Klopp's Liverpool lost 5-0 at Manchester City

Klopp's approach to goalkeepers has been equally at odds with convention. Simon Mignolet was 'rested' in place of Loris Karius for the Arsenal game won 4-0, then restored for the trip to City. Karius though will be Liverpool's European goalkeeper. Danny Ward, who was kept from going back out on loan, is expected to get games in the domestic cup competitions.

Neither Mignolet nor Karius have particularly convinced and the constant juggling seems unlikely to foster the kind of belief required between the man between the sticks and those immediately in front. A commanding No 1 might well have been a priority too this summer.

Instead Liverpool signed Mo Salah to increase an already vibrant frontline and while he has started superbly there remains the nagging doubt about the team's capacity for clean sheets that will ultimately be the measure of them as title contenders or Champions League runners.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain finished the game with Sevilla playing at right back

Signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was like getting a new carpet when the pipes are leaking. He is a good squad addition but primarily in central midfield, a congested area already. And if anything, a player to destroy and hold seemed necessary, rather than one capable of bursting forwards from deep.

Oxlade-Chamberlain ended the Sevilla game covering for Gomez at right-back, and while enforced by the red card made it another game where the backline shuffled. Klopp has also used Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson and though exploring options is understandable, the best defences are settled, forming an intuitive understanding of positions, distances, and reactions in certain circumstances. Liverpool do not have that appearance.

If ambitions are for a genuine push to win the Premier League title and Champions League progress, it is an issue that needs remedying. Before dipping into the market that opens again 108 days from now.

Will Klopp and Liverpool ultimately pay the price for not bringing in Van Dijk