After Liverpool beat Bournemouth 4-2 on the opening day of the current Premier League, Arn Slott promised a worried Jamie Carragher: “This is who we are and this is how we will continue to play.” Just a few months later, the Dutch coach appears to have retracted those words. Slott has adapted and hasn’t made the mistakes that Liverpool needed to adapt to, but they went too far in the opposite direction after a lackluster goalless draw against Leeds United on New Year’s Day.
Carragher could not believe the end-to-end nature of Liverpool’s first few games. The Sky Sports pundit told Slott after the win over Bournemouth: “Arne, when you say, ‘That’s our team,’ I get a little worried.” So many corpses moving forward…”
Slott said: “We have to find a balance in taking risks. But that’s who we are, who we are and that’s why if you watch Liverpool you’ll see a great game. We’re not going to block and defend down low. I like this (attacking style). ), but I like it more when we don’t get counter-attacked. I agree with that, but I like when our players play football. Last season, I enjoyed watching games like Paris Saint-Germain do something similar. Like this. ”
Yet, months on, Liverpool are far too risk-averse. Simply put, they are a boring soccer team to watch. Since beating Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 on October 22nd, the Reds have scored just 19 goals in 15 competitive matches. Since Bournemouth’s victory at Anfield, he has not scored more than two goals in either league or cup games despite playing 14 home games.
As of midway through the Premier League season, they have scored 30 goals. After 19 games a year ago, they found the net 45 times. That’s an obvious drop-off. And although Liverpool’s defensive record has improved since the disastrous defeat to PSV on November 26, there are few signs of long-term planning in the final third.
Many of Liverpool’s goals came from their pure individual qualities, rather than repeatable patterns of play or ferocious high-pressing. There is a lack of sustainability, which helps explain the instability of performance and results. Despite the majority of the team being elite-level forward players, only a few players have impressed in the slot setup this season. That says a lot. It’s hard to remember their last great 90-minute performance.
The players will certainly have to take some responsibility for certain moments and matches this season, but overall the main problem for the Premier League champions is how they are being coached. The current absence of Mohamed Salah and how confused the press is without him is proof of that.
When Salah was available, his failure to put pressure on the right wing was a topic of great debate. Carragher and many others focused their blame squarely on Salah. But Liverpool’s pressing has hardly improved without him, as evidenced by a video of Lazy defending up front against Leeds that went viral. And they bored the Anfield crowd against a side who had yet to keep a clean sheet at home this season.
Don’t get me wrong, Liverpool have had to tweak their playing style. They had conceded 24 goals in 12 games and had lost nine in a row, so they needed to strengthen their defense. They then won away games at Tottenham and Inter Milan, and are currently unbeaten in eight games. But in contrast, they had two points from nine games against Leeds, Sunderland and Nottingham Forest at Anfield, two newly promoted clubs and a club in 17th place.
Offensively speaking, it has become too pedestrian now. Liverpool’s build-up lacks courage. Even though they have a lot of offensive talent, they are overwhelmingly inferior. In the match against Leeds, he managed one shot on target while attacking the Kop in the second half. It was something that came from outside the box.
Supporters are losing faith that Slott is the man to lead this team to greater glory, and Anfield was eerily quiet against Leeds despite it being a night game. Liverpool fans attending matches have been singing Arne Slott’s name in recent weeks, but the 47-year-old needs to improve and evolve his otherwise boring game if he is to maintain his following. He dealt with a disappointing defense, but now he has to energize the front line.
Slott needs to prove in the remaining months of the campaign that he can recapture the exciting style of play that Liverpool fans want to see. If he doesn’t between now and the end of May, this season should be his last at Anfield. The team has too much quality to make excuses.
