In a summer where Liverpool spent around £400 million on new signings, many expected them to storm the Premier League once again. But after four consecutive defeats across all competitions, that’s looking increasingly unlikely.
Their 2–1 loss to Ruben Amorim’s struggling Manchester United side was perhaps the most damaging. United hadn’t won back-to-back league matches since the Portuguese manager replaced Erik ten Hag nearly a year ago. Now they have.
On another day, things might have gone differently. Cody Gakpo could have been more clinical after striking the woodwork three times and missing a golden chance late on. United’s opener might have been ruled out, with Alexis Mac Allister going down under a head injury in the build-up.
None of that happened, though, and Arne Slot now has some tough decisions to make.
Press higher and more cohesively
It was a defining characteristic under Jurgen Klopp, but now, Liverpool’s press looks disjointed and poorly timed. Against United, when attacking or midfield players pressed, the defence didn’t, and huge gaps opened up for the visitors to exploit.
Bryan Mbeumo’s opening goal showed exactly how lackadaisical they can be. Virgil van Dijk stepped up, took Mac Allister out in the process, and was slow to get back into position, jogging then he should have been breaking a sweat.
By the time he had, Mbeumo had already got up off the ground and was ahead of him, latching onto Amad Diallo’s ball to slot through Giorgi Mamardashvili’s legs. Ibrahima Konate tried to cover the ground but never had a chance.
Bruno Fernandes mentioned just how important winning those early battles was after the game, saying: "We knew we had to win our duels in the first 10-15 minutes. We knew that they would try to start the game very, very strong.
“Also during the first half we understood that they were a little under pressure when they had time on the ball.
“The (Liverpool) fans were putting themselves in a difficult position because they were booing a little bit for them to play a little bit quicker because that’s the way Liverpool likes to play mostly.
“We wanted also to slow down their game and we knew they would give massive spaces down the middle and we had to enjoy that."
Liverpool don’t have to press ALL the time, but when they do, they need to step up as a cohesive unit, just like they did under Klopp.
Get the balance right
Jamie Carragher called it, Liverpool don’t look like a “top team.” They play with a frantic energy, and this basketball-style approach doesn’t suit their current defensive options. It’s possible to be exciting without being chaotic.
As we approached the end of the defeat to United, Liverpool had Curtis Jones, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekiteke, Federico Chiesa, Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo, AND Dominik Szoboszlai on the pitch.
Yes, Liverpool ended up scoring the equalizer, but is it any surprise that five minutes later Harry Maguire popped up with a header from a beautifully weighted Bruno Fernandes cross? They barely had any defenders on the pitch.
It feels as though Slot panicked, whereas last season, he might have shown more patience, trusting his side’s quality to find a late winner instead of throwing the kitchen sink at the opposition.
It’s time to drop Mohamed Salah
Sacrilege, we know, but it not looking good for the Egyptian King. In the past, his goals and assists would outweigh his lack of defensive output, but at this moment in time, he’s a luxury Liverpool can’t afford, and they need to tighten their belt.
He’s a remarkable player, probably the best right winger in Premier League history, but too often are Liverpool being exposed down the right-hand side, and with Trent Alexander-Arnold no longer there to turn defense into attack with a line-splitting pass, it’s not working.
Speaking after Chelsea’s dramatic 2-1 win over Liverpool, Marc Cucurella revealed that they purposefully targeted Conor Bradley, and then Szoboszlai at right back because they knew they would be isolated.
When opposition players are calling these things out publicly, it’s probably time to make a change.