If Wednesday night's 1-0 EFL Cup defeat at Southampton is any indication of what life without Sadio Mane is like, then it's going to be a long few weeks for Liverpool unless they make some moves in the January transfer window.

The Reds are by no means a one-man team, but Mane brings a different dimension to their attacking play and without him Jurgen Klopp's title chasers are much easier to defend against.

It's no coincidence that the Senegal international also missed the Reds' 2-0 defeat at Burnley back in August. There were many similarities between that loss and the one at St Mary's; Liverpool were dominated in possession in both matches, but the opposition were happy to sit deep and plug the gaps between midfield and defence where the Reds like to play.

Without the blistering speed and ability of Mane to stretch defences and create space for others, Liverpool struggled to get behind Burnley and Southampton and defensively they looked vulnerable to counterattacks. Indeed, Saints should be kicking themselves that they only won 1-0, as they had enough chances to have virtually booked their place in the final already.

Now they must go to Anfield for the return leg with only a precarious one-goal lead to show for their impressive efforts in the first leg. Unless Liverpool raise their game considerably, though, that might well be enough.

There's no reason for Kopites to panic just yet -- it was just one bad result -- but there is certainly some cause for concern given just how pedestrian the Reds were and the ease with which Southampton shut them down, especially given that Klopp's men have another date with Jose Mourinho's Manchester United this weekend.

It's not just about Mane's absence, though. Key players have lost form at just the wrong moment. Emre Can has struggled for a while, but he was desperately poor at Southampton. In fairness, he was not alone; the only footballer to come out of it with his reputation enhanced was goalkeeper Loris Karius.

Roberto Firmino started the season looking like a world beater, but in recent months the drop off in his play has been significant. A change of position hasn't helped, but is it just that or something more?

Perhaps he's missed his compatriot Philippe Coutinho, who returned from a six-week injury layoff as a second-half substitute at St Mary's. Having the two back in tandem should help to compensate somewhat for the absence of Mane, but only if Firmino rediscovers his best form and others also step up their game.

That includes Divock Origi, who was hot a few weeks ago after scoring in six of seven games. He was then left out against Manchester City and hasn't looked the same since. Origi started against Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup and was dreadful, and perhaps that was why Klopp elected to disrupt the entire balance of his team rather than start with him at St Mary's.

With Mane unavailable, you don't need a UEFA coaching badge to see that Liverpool's forward line lacks speed. Origi isn't a natural wide man, but he has played there on plenty of occasions and unless the boss has something up his sleeve in the transfer market, the Belgian is probably the most natural option to replace Mane until he eventually returns from the African Nations Cup.

Having more pace in the team might also help Daniel Sturridge, who was utterly dreadful on Wednesday. At one point, Klopp handed the England man a piece of paper with tactical instructions on it, but he'd have been better served drawing a map with directions on how to find his way out of Virgil van Dijk's pocket, such was the Dutchman's complete dominance over the Reds' striker.

Even Adam Lallana wasn't himself against Southampton. He was the player charged with replacing Mane on the right, but by selecting him there all Klopp did was weaken two positions. Lallana has been one of the Premier League's best players this season as a central midfielder after spending two years struggling to live up to his price tag playing as a wide attacker. He looked the latter on Wednesday.

Liverpool's squad does have depth, but it's becoming clear that it does not have balance and therefore certain players can't be adequately replaced. The bench players who are being brought into the side are all good footballers, but if they aren't like-for-like replacements for those they are filling in for then that causes disruption.

Given the strides they've made this year it's easy to forget that Liverpool are still a work in progress, but they have a chance to do something special this season and it would be unacceptable if they fell short due to a failure to be proactive in the transfer market this month.

The transfer window has been open for 12 days and yet Liverpool do not appear to have made any serious attempts to bring anybody in. Tiago Ilori is on his way out, while Mamadou Sakho is also expected to move on. Neither departure will have any negative impact on the rest of Liverpool's season, but a failure to strengthen most certainly might.

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by David Usher

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