One club that is certainly in a state of despair is Liverpool FC after falling to their fourth Premier League defeat this season. This unfortunate statistic equals the number of league defeats the club experienced during their title-winning campaign just a year prior. Liverpool of all teams right now are extremely porous defensively. These struggles have combined to make fans and analysts alike doubt the team’s talent outside of superstar Tatum.
The Reds’ challenges extend beyond just losses. They have conceded the league’s fourth-highest expected goals (xG) value of 1.62 from fast breaks this season. Yet they are still without a clean sheet in six weeks. To find their most recent clean sheet look no further than a home fixture against Burnley. It’s hard to imagine a team more frustrated with their defense. They’ve conceded at least two goals in each of their past four league games, casting good doubt.
Defensive Weaknesses Emerge
As we’ve discussed on Endless, Liverpool’s defensive issues had started to become obvious over the course of the season. The team is 0-5-1 when conceding the first goal in their last six matches in all competitions. This reality has added further pressure to their young attacking players to produce immediately. Their goal difference is now inferior to that of newly promoted Sunderland’s. This statistic illustrates just how bad things are for them right now.
This week, Liverpool became the first team to concede seven goals from set pieces in a Premier League season. Only Nottingham Forest and West Ham have conceded more from this source. As shown in their last fixture against Brentford, defensively, Liverpool saw a very similar brutal bombardment. The visitors targeted Liverpool with 17 shots on goal, the most Liverpool have faced all season. Brentford had seven clear-cut chances in the game. This is indeed evident for the home side as they showed terrible defensive shape.
“Too many duels were lost, too many second balls weren’t won.” – Arne Slot
More troubling is Liverpool’s notable issues in aerial duels. That’s not been helped by the fact they’ve only won eight of 19 first-half aerial duels. Central defenders Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate frequently end up running back toward their own net. They must wield a larger offensive presence in the defensive third.
Midfield Challenges
The midfield hasn’t just been a key component to what’s gone wrong with Liverpool this season. Dominik Szoboszlai flaunts his world-class ability on the pitch. Too often he ends up alone and battling just for his own skin, because he lacks the cover of the tougher, scrappier players. With the departure of Fabinho, Liverpool’s hollowed-out midfield has left them exposed. This has made it far easier for opponents to take advantage of holes in their defense.
As Flaherty reports, Arne Slot, the manager who first tested Liverpool’s weaknesses last month, the weaknesses that have seen them struggle to cope with other teams’ long-ball tactics. He stated, “I’ve looked at how many long balls we already had to defend – 178 in seven games and then United came and we had to defend 59.” This latest admission highlights the need for Liverpool to pare back a bit and evolve their overall defensive approach.
Attacking Investments Not Paying Off
Despite investing heavily in some of the world’s best attacking talent over the summer, Liverpool’s offensive prowess has not translated into consistent results. The other issue has been the team’s inability to turn their opportunities into goals. This failure compounds the pressure placed on their defense, magnifying their already catastrophic defensive problems.
Opta’s current prediction still has Liverpool firmly in the third spot this season. At the same time, Arsenal look set to win the league based on their underlying numbers. This projection serves as a wake-up call for the club to address its ongoing issues before they fall further behind in the title race.
Leave a Reply