Concerns are building for Arne Slot after Liverpool’s damaging defeat at home to Manchester United, a fourth-straight defeat in all competitions.
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Perspective is key as Liverpool have lost all four games by a single goal and could have easily won all of them had their finishing been better. But something hasn’t quite been right all season long for the reigning Premier League champions.
So, what is wrong with Liverpool? How can Slot fix things, fast? Is this going to be a prolonged struggle?
Below we address the key issues impacting Liverpool after their extremely shaky start to the new season.
Liverpool have to press high, and time it better
It has been clear so far this season that Liverpool haven’t had the right intensity in the right moments with their press and they are too easy to counter on. That has to change. Under Jurgen Klopp the high-pressing was intense and fine-tuned and Liverpool were renowned and revered for pressing high from the start, scoring early and finishing games off before half time. They don’t do that now. At all. When their forwards or attacking midfield players were pressing against United, the rest of the team didn’t go with them. Huge gaps opened up. They were disconnected. United held the ball at the back to draw Liverpool out before then clipping it long and opening up huge spaces on the counters. It was so easy to get at Liverpool’s defense and exactly the same way Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Chelsea caused Slot’s side so many problems.
Bruno Fernandes said it best afterwards on how United beat Liverpool, and this is also how plenty of teams are getting at Liverpool too easily this season: “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.”
Teams are dragging Liverpool out of position, breaking their press with a long ball over midfield and then targeting full backs to drag over center backs and open up gaps centrally to exploit. The main thing Liverpool have to get right is when they should press and the intensity of it. Sometimes it is okay not to push high but when they decide to go, they have to go together like they did during the Klopp era. Liverpool aren’t hunting in packs.
Ekitike should start over Isak
This may be slightly controversial but it shouldn’t be: on current form Hugo Ekitike has to start over Alexander Isak. The latter had a huge chance in the first half against United but hit it straight at Senne Lammens. He barely had a kick other than that. In the 30 minutes he was on the pitch against United, Ekitike looked way more dangerous than Isak and he has to start up top in Liverpool’s next game at his former club Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday. Isak didn’t have a preseason and you can see it. He isn’t sharp enough at the moment and needs extra work on the training ground to get up to speed. That isn’t what fans want to hear about the most expensive signing in Premier League history, but it’s the truth. Rolling Isak out time and time again isn’t helping anyone right now, even if Slot says he can now be judge as he’s up to speed. He clearly isn’t. Isak has to be at peak fitness levels and confident to deliver goals and be the difference in key moments. Ekitike is fitter, sharper and more confident right now and has to start. Isak will get there but starting him over and over right now is only destroying his confidence and form.
Stop forcing it and focus on defensive balance
The mantra from Slot this summer and at the start of the season is all about Liverpool being more exciting and going for it in games. Why did they need to change anything from what they were doing so well last season? They had so much control in games last season and played at a much slower tempo and were less frantic and games were less chaotic and they have the quality to win games with individual brilliance. Liverpool have to get back to being sound defensively and being okay with sitting back and waiting for the right moments to attack. That is a skill and an art to that too. You can’t just keep throwing loads of attacking players on the pitch and tell them to surge forward, hoping for the best and then losing late on. Slot made so many attacking subs early in the second half and it felt panicked. Slot and Liverpool are forcing things and there is no need for them to do this. They have enough quality to win all of these tight games they’ve lost in recent weeks if they just calm down and trust in themselves. The messaging is all wrong. Rather than letting the game play out and believing in the quality they have to make the difference, Liverpool are forcing the issue. It’s frantic and doesn’t suit the players they have with Virgil van Dijk, the full backs and Ryan Gravenberch left too exposed on the counter time and time again, and Mohamed Salah, Florian Wirtz and Isak not playing to their strengths with attacks not prolonged or controlled for their talents to shine. Add in the panicked nature of defending and constant issues defending crosses and set-pieces and it’s a terrible mixture of poor balance and below-par defending. Liverpool have to get the basics right at the back and let their quality take care of things.
Salah, Kerkez have to be dropped
It is just strange watching Mohamed Salah play like this. It’s not normal. After his otherworldly season last season, we expect him to score every time he has a chance. But this slump, and lack of confidence, has been around since the end of last season and is a huge concern. The best thing Slot can do at the moment is to take Salah out of the team and give him a break. He won’t like it and perhaps that disappointed feeling, as well as a break, will help him regain his edge and his sharpness. He snatched at big chances once again against United and his lack of defensive work is a massive concern and leaves Liverpool imbalanced far too often. On the other side of the pitch it is time for Milos Kerkez to also be taken out and rested. It hasn’t been a great start to his Liverpool career, at all, and if this carries on it could well impact his entire Liverpool career. Kerkez is being targeted by opposition teams and United had Fernandes, Mbeumo, Cunha and Diallo all drifting out to the left side of Liverpool’s defense. It overwhelmed him and led to Virgil van Dijk being dragged out of position at center back to try and provide extra cover. Kerkez is a great talent, defensivley and going forward, and he will bounce back. But when you have an experienced head like Andy Robertson waiting in the wings to step up and put in solid displays at left back, now is when you have to use him for an extended run of games.
