It doesn’t rain but it pours for Arne Slot’s Liverpool.
Seven defeats in eight games, dumped out of the League Cup and seven points behind Arsenal in the league; Liverpool are in a slump.
But why?
Alisson’s Injury
Giorgi Mamardashvili arrived at Liverpool with an impressive reputation. At Valencia, he established himself as one of the world’s best shot stoppers, recognised with a 7th place finish in the 2024 Yashin Trophy.
Whilst he has yet to hit top form, there is a greater short-term concern. Mamardashvili’s playstyle differs greatly to that of Alisson’s and this is creating a defensive vacuum that teams are exploiting.
Alisson is rapid off his line and is the best keeper on the planet in a one-on-one situation. This skillset has enabled the Liverpool backline to operate higher up the pitch, safe in the knowledge the Brazilian has them covered should any long balls get in behind. This higher line in turn has allowed Liverpool to compress the middle of the park and dominate possession.
Mamardashvili, for all his shot stopping assets, is slower off his line and weaker in one-on-ones compared to Alisson.
This has left the Liverpool backline in limbo.
They’re being forced into a deeper line, but this is neither deep enough to neutralize a ball over the top, nor is it high enough to continue being an asset in winning the midfield battle. They’re stuck in no man’s land.
Defensive Frailties
In Slot’s debut season, Liverpool kept the most clean sheets in the league.
They were praised for the control they exerted over games, resilient at the back against any type of attack that threatened them.
This season, the story couldn’t be more different.
Liverpool have been particularly vulnerable to long diagonal balls behind the full-backs. Palace and Brentford were both effective at utilising this space to devastating effect.
The centre-back pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté served Slot well last season, but neither have looked as imperious as in the previous campaign. This is particularly evident from set pieces; Liverpool have already conceded seven times from dead ball situations, compared to ten across the whole of last season.
Midfield Inconsistency
Mikel Arteta is reaping the rewards of a settled midfield built around Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi. In contrast, Arne Slot is struggling to work out his preferred midfield, both in terms of system and personnel.
Dominik Szoboszlai has been ever present and undoubtedly Liverpool’s best player this season, but there has been no consistency around him. Mac Allister out of form, Gravenberch quiet, Jones drifting in and out and Endo rarely trusted.
But regardless of the form and everchanging personnel, Liverpool’s midfield are stuck in a perfect storm.
To accommodate Florian Wirtz as a central playmaker, more defensive responsibilities are falling upon the other two midfielders. All the while, Alisson’s absence is necessitating a deeper defensive line, opening up the space in midfield.
Klopp and Slot’s early team suffocated teams into the middle and then dominated the space with three industrious midfielders – think Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum, James Milner, Adam Lallana.
Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Gravenberch and Jones are all midfielders comfortable in possession who all would have been comfortable within a Klopp midfield three. But this season, they are being tasked with operating within a defensive midfield duo with a wider gap between the defensive and forward line. It just isn’t working.
The outnumbered midfield means teams are getting through.
The defensive frailties of the full-backs means teams can get around.
Alisson’s absence to sweep up long balls is helping teams to get over.
Misfiring Forwards
Last season, Mohamed Salah’s goalscoring exploits covered many cracks.
This season, he’s finally looking human. Opportunities that once he would have buried are not being converted. Three goals and two assists in nine games is by far his slowest start to a season in a Liverpool shirt.
Hugo Ekitiké hit the ground running, but lost his starting spot to Isak, a change that hasn’t yet paid off. The Swede is yet to find the back of the net in the league, with one measly assist to his name. His disrupted pre-season is coming back to haunt him; he’s looked sluggish and a yard short all season.
Gakpo continues to contribute goals and assists at a steady rate, without looking like a world beater.
What Needs to Change?
The individual poor form of key players hasn’t helped. Both the experienced squad players and the new big-money signings will need to raise their levels should they retain any hope of getting the season back on track.
But Arne Slot also needs to evolve his approach. Liverpool are in a perfect storm of issues, and digging their head in the sand hasn’t helped.
Alisson is expected back midway through November, but he regularly misses games through injury and isn’t getting any younger. His unique ability off his line has created a false sense of security with the high line that needs to be rectified in his absence. As good as Mamardashvili might prove to be, you won’t ever be Alisson 2.0 and the defensive setup must reflect that.
Florian Wirtz will be given time to adapt; he has shown in flashes the brilliant attributes that he will bring to this squad. But defensive steel in midfield isn’t one of them and the midfield duo operating behind him needs to be set accordingly to mitigate this.
Up front, chances are still being created and the opportunities are still there, they just aren’t being converted.
Everything has gone wrong at once for Liverpool, but they will remain a team to be feared when the stars finally realign. On paper, they retain one of the strongest squads in the world and are the defending league champions for a reason; let’s not forget they are the only team to have beaten Arsenal this season.
They might already be too far behind in the Premier League, but don’t write them off in the Champions League just yet, assuming they reach the knockouts that is.
