Liverpool are spiralling. What was initially a blip has morphed into a full blown crisis.
Arne Slot’s side have now lost as many Premier League games this season as they did in the entirety of their title-winning campaign (four). So, what has caused such a dramatic drop-off?
Long-ball catastrophe
Slot has already admitted Liverpool cannot cope with a long-ball strategy, so you can guess what tactic Keith Andrews employed during Saturday’s 3-2 success. Brentford peppered their visitors with 64 direct passes. Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate spent more time running towards their own goal than doing much else.
Perhaps it was unwise for Slot to spell out Liverpool’s frailty so publicly. “I’ve looked at how many long balls we already had to defend – 178 in seven games and then United came and we had to defend 59,” he said in his press conference, blaming shortcomings on the “playing styles we face”.
It served as the perfect blueprint. Brentford played their highest percentage of long passes all season, scoring within five minutes from a long throw before Kevin Schade was assisted by a 40-yard Mikkel Damsgaard pass to go 2-0 up. Liverpool were split wide open and it was a long way back from there.
Susceptible to fast breaks
Slot might be keen to deflect blame but there is an obvious lack of coherence and balance to his current Liverpool structure. Under Jurgen Klopp, the Reds were a pressing machine and retained much of that intensity last year, but performances this term have been much more passive.
The pressure to intercept therefore falls on the midfield trio, who are faltering in transition. Liverpool have conceded the league’s fourth highest xG value (1.62) to fast breaks this season. Opposition teams have exploited full-backs who take too much risk and are constantly caught out of position. Bournemouth used this exact play on opening weekend and yet no lessons have been learnt.
Brentford generated 17 efforts at goal on Saturday – the most Liverpool have faced all season – while also creating a weekend-high seven big chances. Four of those were missed.
Physicality issues
Without injured Ryan Gravenberch, and sometimes still with him, Liverpool look lightweight. They only won eight of 19 first-half aerial duels at the Gtech.
Slot packed the midfield with technicians, hoping to dominate possession, which they did, but failed to account for occasions where they lost the ball out of shape. Neither Florian Wirtz nor Curtis Jones are the combative type, which left Dominik Szoboszlai to fend for himself.
The Hungarian won more duels (11) than any player on the pitch but was covering the work of three midfielders off the ball. He was over-exposed. “Too many duels were lost, too many second balls weren’t won,” Slot conceded. Wirtz has the second lowest success rate in duels (33 per cent) of any Liverpool player.
Integration problems
Liverpool spent big of some of the world’s best attacking talent this summer. The theory behind such an aggressive drive was sound in part.
Both Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez left the club and of course there existed a huge gap where Diogo Jota’s goal contributions once were – his tragic passing no doubt taking an emotional toll too. The effects of which cannot be measured. But the argument for such a dramatic overhaul of a team of reigning champions was less reasoned.
In its current configuration the squad is completely unbalanced. There is barely defensive cover if either Van Dijk or Konate – who looks ripe for a rest – need replacing, and the full-back department is insufficiently stocked too.
Alexander Isak and Wirtz appear lost. Was the latter not bought specifically for the task of unlocking teams whose defensive structure is a low block? Something about Slot’s recent admission does not tally here. “We haven’t found that answer yet,” he confessed. That is surely the manager’s job to fix.
Slow starts
Liverpool have conceded first in their last six matches in all competitions. In their last four league outings they have shipped at least two a game. And the timing of those goals has not helped either, each opener arriving no later than the 16th minute. Brentford scored in the fifth.
Games have quickly become a rescue mission and this fragile side, with its biggest names underperforming, don’t seem to be able to withstand the pressure. Liverpool actually have a worse goal difference than newly promoted Sunderland.
In fact, since clinching the title last season, they have won as many Premier League points as Sunderland – playing four games more.
Title defence in tatters?
At the current rate of travel, Opta predicts Liverpool will finish third with Arsenal crowned champions. Of course, that is not an exact science but it’s hard to argue against that outcome on recent evidence. If anything third looks generous, given no top-flight side is on a longer losing run.
Slot has work to do. Priority number one has got to be to stop conceding goals at a rate of knots. Liverpool’s last clean sheet was six weeks ago against Burnley. And they have got a problem with set-pieces too. Only Nottingham Forest and West Ham (10 each) have conceded more times from a set-play this season than Liverpool (seven).
Before attempting to avoid losing five consecutive league matches for the first time since 1953 on Saturday against Aston Villa, the Reds host Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup, live on Sky Sports. Selhurst Park is incidentally where this losing streak began.
No time for soul searching, then, Slot needs solutions, or this painful transition period is set to last long into winter.
Liverpool’s next five fixtures
Wednesday 29th October 7:00pm
Kick off 7:45pm
Oct 29: Crystal Palace (H), Carabao Cup – kick-off 7.45pm, live on Sky Sports
Nov 1: Aston Villa (H), Premier League – kick-off 8pm
Nov 4: Real Madrid (H), Champions League – kick-off 8pm
Nov 9: Man City (A), Premier League – kick-off 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports
Nov 22: Nottingham Forest (H), Premier League, kick-off 3pm
