Liverpool fell to their second consecutive defeat against Galatasaray in the Champions League, so they were nowhere nearing the best again.
The Premier League crown is enough evidence to suggest that Arne Slot has a Midas Touch since taking over Jurgen Klopp last summer. But this is proven because the season of the majestic maidens in the Netherlands is likely to be a difficult act to follow all the time.
Golden Touch certainly dumped Liverpool against Galatasarai. And their poor show in Istanbul was not the tonic needed to eradicate the shocking defeat to Crystal Palace over the weekend. Put things in context, this is the second time Liverpool has lost a back-to-back game under the slot in 15 months. But even the catalogue of victory ahead of the match against the Palace and Galatasaray had an air of vulnerability about the champions.
After historic summer spending and Liverpool, 10 games will be played in the new season, with Liverpool miles from the level that won the 20th national title under slot stewardship. With the large signatures unable to catch the light and the teams look distinctively fragile, the Reds Chiefs are well left to reflect on during the upcoming international break…
read more: Arne Slot’s Big Mo Salah calls backfire when Liverpool loses vs Galatasaray – 5 Talking Points
1. In the case of defense
“Attacks win your game, and defense win your title,” Sir Alex Ferguson once said. And Manchester United, the legendary manager of Liverpool’s bitter rival, certainly knew one or two things about winning the title.
Liverpool’s defense was the foundation of Premier League success in slots last season, but its solidity has not been seen this term. In the opening of Reds’ 10 games, he has 13 goals and holds two clean sheets. After the same amount of games last year, Liverpool recorded six shutouts. Beyond the numbers, they look fragile. Slot’s men were carved open too easily by the Galatasarei side, who is unlikely to lift the tree in last season’s Champions League.
Individually, Ibrahima Conate and summer signature Milos Kerquez are under standard and hope that both will find a form in the coming weeks. There have already been many papers written about cracks in the chains this season. But even with the talent for attacking freely in slots, it doesn’t feel sustainable throughout the campaign.
2. Not chemical
It wasn’t just about Liverpool’s problematic, but it wasn’t difficult for the goal to come on the other side of the pitch.
“You know that chemistry is not right at this time,” former Reds striker Daniel Sturridge said on Amazon Prime, and he hit a nail in the head. Liverpool still finds their feet after tactically tweaking things to incorporate Florian Whartz, and will probably take more time than you would expect to balance.
Mohamed Sarah is the perfect example. The Reds Amulet enjoyed his best campaign of all time last year, but he has been held to his own very high standards up until now, despite having three goals and three assists. It’s important to make Salah and Reds’ other big money signatures the best in attacks with Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike.
3. Better or Wirtz?
Wirtz has dominated the story so far this season, following a £116 million move from Bayer Leverkusen. Unfortunately for the Liverpool and the German stars, that’s not the right reason. Now, he does extraordinary things almost every week in the Bundesliga, but has no goal contribution from players that looked pretty normal early in his Premier League career.
He – very obviously – appears to have lost the confidence of the player after the beginning of his life at Anfield. Jamie Carrager called for Whartz to be removed from the firing after Galatasaree’s match.
“But now he needs to come out of the team. Liverpool is returning to the presence they had last season and trying to build confidence and stability. It looks like a mess right now.”
The reality is that slots have yet to find a way to make the most of Wirtz. Given that he is their marquee’s summer signature, it’s not something he doesn’t endure, so finding a solution to Wirtz’s dilemma may now be the most pressing issue of slots.
4. Determine the best team
After challenging on four fronts last season and spending around £450 million on new signatures, Slots and Liverpool could always spin more than they could even see the Reds boss confirming themselves this season. However, the difficult trip to Galatasaray probably wasn’t the best moment to try Jeremy Fripon in a more advanced role ahead of Dominique Zobosilai.
Slot feels like he’s discovering his best team even after a big transfer window. Ekitike probably made the strongest impression from Reds’ new signature, but it’s unclear that even his spot on the team Isak is fully fit and firing.
Things settle when Slots can solve his best team. And to be fair to him, he had no chance to do it yet.
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