Liverpool are on a roll. What started out as a brief moment turned into a full-blown crisis.
Arne Slott’s side have lost as many Premier League games this season (four) as they lost in the entire title-winning campaign. So what caused such a dramatic decline?
long ball disaster
Slott has already admitted that Liverpool cannot cope with long-ball strategies, so you can guess what tactics Keith Andrews employed during Saturday’s 3-2 success. Brentford inspired the visitors with 64 direct passes. Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate spent more time running towards their goal than doing anything else.
Perhaps it was unwise for Slott to spell out Liverpool’s weaknesses so publicly. “We looked at the number of long balls we already had to defend, 178 in seven games, and then United came and we had to defend 59,” he said in a press conference, blaming the shortcomings of “the style of play we are facing”.
It served as the perfect blueprint. Brentford had their best long pass success rate all season, scoring within five minutes of a long throw, with Kevin Shade assisting Mikkel Damsgaard’s 40-yard pass to take a 2-0 lead. Liverpool were left torn apart and there was no way things would progress from there.
susceptible to haste
Slott may want to deflect blame, but there is clearly a lack of consistency and balance in Liverpool’s current set-up. The Reds are a pressing machine under Jurgen Klopp and largely maintained their intensity last year, but their performance this term has been far more subdued.
The pressure for interceptions therefore falls on the midfield trio, who are sluggish in transition. Liverpool have allowed the league’s fourth-highest xG from fast breaks this season (1.62). Opposing teams have taken advantage of full-backs who take too many risks and are constantly out of position. Bournemouth used this exact play in their opening game, but the lesson has yet to be learned.
On Saturday, Brentford had 17 shots on goal, the most Liverpool have faced all season, and also created seven big chances, the most of any weekend. Four of them were missed.
physicality problem
Liverpool look lightweight without the injured Ryan Gravenbirch, and with him at times. Gtech won only 8 of 19 aerial duels in the first half.
Slott wanted to stuff the midfield with technicians and dominate possession, which they did, but they failed to account for situations in which they lost form and lost the ball. Neither Florian Wirtz nor Curtis Jones are combative types, so Dominik Szoboszlai had to defend himself.
The Hungarian won more duels than any other player on the pitch (11), but off the ball he covered the work of three midfielders. He was overexposed. “We lost too many duels and didn’t get too many second balls,” Slott admitted. Wirtz has the second lowest duel success rate of any Liverpool player (33 per cent).
Integration issues
Liverpool spent heavily on the best attacking talent in the world this summer. The theory behind such an offensive drive was partially sound.
Luis Dias and Darwin Nunez left the club, and it goes without saying that there was a big gap in the goal contribution of former Diogo Jota. There is no doubt that his tragic death caused psychological damage. Its effect cannot be measured. However, there was little basis for arguments calling for such a dramatic overhaul of the reigning champion team.
With the current team composition, the team is completely unbalanced. There is little cover in defense and insufficient talent in the full-back department if either Van Dijk or Konate, who looks ripe for a break, needs to be replaced.
Alexander Isaac and Wirtz seem to be at a loss. Wasn’t the latter specifically purchased for the purpose of unlocking a team whose defensive structure is a low block? What is said about Mr. Slott’s recent hospitalization does not apply here. “I haven’t found the answer yet,” he confessed. It’s definitely the manager’s job to fix that.
slow start
Liverpool have conceded the first goal in all competitions in their last six games. In the past four league games, he has shipped at least two per game. And the timing of those goals didn’t help either, with each opener arriving no later than the 16th minute. Brentford scored in the fifth.
The game quickly becomes a relief mission, and with the big names underperforming, this fragile team can’t seem to withstand the pressure. In fact, Liverpool’s goal difference is worse than newly promoted Sunderland.
In fact, since winning the title last season, they have picked up as many Premier League points as Sunderland and have played four more games.
Is the title defense in tatters?
At their current rate of movement, Opta predicts that Liverpool will finish third with Arsenal winning. Of course, this is not an exact science, but it is difficult to refute the results based on recent evidence. Even if third place seems generous considering the top teams haven’t lost for a long time.
Slot has a job to do. The first priority is to stop conceding points at knot speeds. Liverpool’s last clean sheet was six weeks ago against Burnley. They also have problems with set pieces. Only Nottingham Forest and West Ham (10 each) have conceded more goals from set pieces this season than Liverpool (seven).
The Reds host Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, before Saturday’s game against Aston Villa seeks to avoid a fifth successive league defeat for the first time since 1953. Incidentally, Selhurst Park is where this losing streak began.
There is no time for soul searching. Slots need a solution. Otherwise, this painful transition period will last long into winter.
Liverpool’s next 5 games
Wednesday, October 29th 7pm
7:45pm kickoff
29 October: Crystal Palace (H), Carabao Cup – 7.45pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports
November 1: Aston Villa (H), Premier League – 8pm kick-off
November 4: Real Madrid (H), Champions League – 8pm kick-off
November 9: Man City (A), Premier League – 4.30pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports
November 22: Nottingham Forest (H), Premier League, 3pm kick-off
