What’s going wrong for Slot’s Liverpool?

Following last Wednesday’s 0-3 loss at home at the Carabao Cup, Liverpool have now lost 6 out of their previous 7 games.

This embarrassing result comes only five days after a 3-2 loss at Brentford, where Arne Slot’s men were thoroughly outclassed. Brentford went 2-0 up at 45 minutes, before Kerkez got back one before the break. In the 60th minute however, forward Igor Thiago converted a penalty and although Mohammed Salah scored in the 89th minute, it was too little, too late as the Reds suffered their 4th defeat in the Premier League.

The team looks much more passive than last season where they often intimidated teams with a high-press, transitional structure

But how did the EPL Champions face such a drastic downfall? 5 games into the season, they were at the top of the table but 4 games later, they sit 7th, outside a Champions League qualification spot and 7 points behind leaders Arsenal.

Fans have been questioning Slot’s tactics as Liverpool have conceded the fourth highest xG value to fast breaks this season. The team looks much more passive than last season where they often intimidated teams with a high-press, transitional structure. Though Ryan Gravenberch’s injury may be a contributing factor, the midfield trio has looked shaky even with him, often looking out of shape once the ball is lost. Moreover, opposition teams, starting from Bournemouth in the opening week tend to exploit the defensive flanks as both Kerkez and Frimpong are constantly caught out of position.

Speaking of Kerkez and Frimpong, these new signings have also generated doubt. Besides Hugo Etikite who has notched 7 G/A across 12 appearances, the others have failed to deliver. Star striker Alexander Isak has failed to notch up a single goal in either the Premier League or the Champions League, while marquee signing Florian Wirtz had 0 contributions to his name until the game against Eintracht Frankfurt where he got 2 assists. Being an attacking midfielder, Liverpool had already lost some of the defensive stability they had in the middle of the pitch last season so his attacking failures are a cause of concern. There are general concerns with the players integrating as well.

With this poor run of form, one wonders if Slot’s future at this club is in jeopardy

With nearly $450 million spent, breaking the record for highest expenditure by an EPL club in a single window, expectations were high. However, Luiz Diaz and Darwin Nunez’s departures seems to have left huge gaps. The club also looks highly unbalanced with the defence particularly looking fragile, especially with no solid back-up if Van Dijk or Konaté needs a rest.

It was also probably unwise for manager Arne Slot to admit his team’s problem of coping with long balls as teams have increasingly started to use that strategy, causing Liverpool to concede at least two goals per match in their last four outings, with the openers all coming early on.

With this poor run of form, one wonders if Slot’s future at this club is in jeopardy, especially with pressure mounting and a difficult set of fixtures ahead, starting with Aston Villa at home.