Liverpool vs Huddersfield Town, 5 Talking Points

It was a strange 90 minutes when Liverpool hosted Huddersfield Town at Anfield earlier today. The Reds -- mauled by the efficient counter-attacking Tottenham side last weekend -- started slowly and it was only in the second half that they put three past the away side to seal a resounding win.

Liverpool's defence was the main talking point before the game began as Dejan Loren was named on the teamsheet alongside Joel Matip, but to everyone's surprise in the stadium and those watching on the telly, he didn't start the game after picking up a thigh injury during the warm-up.

Goals from Daniel Sturridge, Roberto Firmino and Gini Wijnaldum settled the tie for Liverpool as Huddersfield rarely threatened the home side's goal. Here are the main talking points from the game.

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#5 Liverpool's low confidence showed in the first half

Coming into the game after a tough result against Tottenham, Liverpool needed a fast start. They had anything but that. If you slept through the first half, you can be forgiven. Huddersfield played a compact game at the back, just like last weekend, but unlike the clash against Manchester United, they did little to trouble Liverpool on the break.

Liverpool made a few changes, some of which were forced, and they struggled to find any sort of rhythm in the attacking third.

The duo of Roberto Firmino and Daniel Sturridge are good players to have up front, but the creativity was missing. Liverpool rarely shifted the ball to the wide areas and Moreno and Gomez were pretty ineffective in the final third as Huddersfield were happy to play narrow at the back.

The second half saw the team play with more intensity and a more direct approach. The biggest change was perhaps the latter as they tried to finish off moves quicker, something that they didn't do in the first half by dwelling too much on the ball and passing it around in the middle.

#4 Coutinho's absence could be a telling factor in the coming week or so

Coutinho watches the game from the sidelines

The reason why Liverpool looked woeful in the second half was that of Coutinho's absence. The Brazilian was ruled out due to a groin injury and it remains to be seen how long he'll be out for.

In his absence, Klopp decided to draft in Sturridge into the lineup and while the Englishman did open the scoring with a delightful chip, Liverpool simply failed to break the the sturdy Terriers backline regularly.

In the end, it didn't really matter as Huddersfield went in search of a goal and the game opened up, but considering what's already transpired this season and the general consensus of teams adopting a counter-attacking approach against Liverpool, the hosts can count themselves lucky.

Firmino was shifted to a wide role but he simply doesn't have the same ability to pick out a pass or create something like Coutinho.

#3 Huddersfield failed in their counter-attacking approach

David Wagner's side flattered to deceive at Anfield

It was easy to presume what approach Huddersfield had planned before the game began. Unlike what they achieved against Manchester United though, they simply couldn't get past the Liverpool midfield three.

Ragnar Klavan was an 11th-hour addition to the starting XI and he didn't really cover himself in glory when given chances in the past. That Liverpool defence was there for the taking, but Huddersfield lacked the pace up front as Laurent Depoitre had a poor game.

Tom Ince barely had any impact either and while you can admit Huddersfield were poor, the Liverpool midfield should be given some credit as well.

Liverpool lost possession of the ball 28 times, but David Wagner's side simply failed to muster good transitions in the game as Liverpool crowded out the opposition players well. The way the media put the game out kind of disappointed too as the away side didn't really press Liverpool. It wasn't the battle of the geggenpress, just a question of when Liverpool could breach the opposition defence.

#2 Daniel Sturridge's goal-drought finally ends

Daniel Sturridge celebrates after scoring the opener

Injuries and patchy form have rendered Sturridge to a bit part player at Liverpool these days. But with injuries to key players, Klopp trusted him more than Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Often a player who divides opinion, Sturridge was once again below par in the first half, but that wasn't entirely his fault. In trying to create something by coming deep, he lost the ball five times in the whole game, but you can't blame him for trying. His finishing is what he was in the team for and boy did he deliver on that front.

After Huddersfield failed to deal with a Moreno long pass, the ball inadvertently fell to Sturridge and he deftly beat Lossl to open the scoring.

The goal ended a run of five Premier League games without a goal and with a Champions League game against Maribor and a tie against West Ham next, Liverpool will be glad their striker is finally back in amongst the goals.

#1 Injury headaches for Jurgen Klopp

Dejan Lovren picked up an injury in the warm-up

First Coutinho, then Lovren in the span of days. While a few Liverpool supporters were cynically rejoicing Lovren's absence from the starting XI, even they know that the side are woefully short at the back.

Klavan did a decent job against Huddersfield, but they hardly tested the Estonian, so the clash against West Ham will be interesting. Klopp has the option of playing Joe Gomez at centre-back as Trent Alexander-Arnold is a pretty good option on the right, but that's about it when it comes to personnel at the moment.

The injury to Lovren means resources are stretched at Anfield. Couple that with the injuries Liverpool have already had -- Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne, Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho more recently -- Klopp and co. could be in for a hard time in the coming month or so.

December will be a tough period and the fans will hope some of the key players will be back by then. But the Merseyside outfit need to make sure they stay in the reckoning for the top four places and not fall too far behind.