The earlier season stoppage time winners papered over the cracks and gave them wins that their general performance levels hadn't deserved and gave the impression that all was well and the dominance from last season was carrying over. That luck has run out and the results are correcting themselves and taking Liverpool towards the position their performances so far have deserved. There's clearly a lot of work for them to do. They aren't as bad as their three defeats has made them look, and neither are they as good as their start to the season suggested. It's going to be a transition season and their main aim is probably trying to make sure they stay in the Champions League and try to build momentum throughout the season and finish strongly ahead of going for the big honours again next season.
Still not writing this season off yet we just need to find a system that gets the best out of the squad. Hopefully the international break helps us reset and Slot can come up with some new ideas but mainly it's on the players too many of them just look half arsed that first goal last night summed it up.
welcome to a premier league title race in 2025. More to do with he fact we are playing horrendously even when we are winning though.
I've said here all season Arsenal are much better set to win the league this season and I can't see us winning it. i expected it to be close though but can see Arsenal running away with it like we did last year because we're not going to push them at this rate. City may push them but not sure Guardiola still has it in him after nearly 10 years there. I'm not even focused on a title challenge now though, we look a complete mess. Hopefully things settle a bit and we can at least look like a functional football team again by the end of the year or it'll be a very long season.
We need to move to a diamond get Wirtz in his best position with the 3 midfielders around him to give him less responsibility defensively and have the forwards fight for the two attacking roles. This 4-2-3-1 ain't it.
I think the solution is a simple one ,the manager needs to start trusting the process ,any period of change will not come to fruition or reach it's full potential without sacrificing points in this league. Slot told all who would listen before the season started that the team would be more exciting going forward and carry more threat in those areas. Last season was won on the back of his pragmatism and the teams well drilled approach to games ,constantly pressing the opposition and forcing mistakes on the front foot, but this departure from those qualities has meant we're giving up points and the manager is suffering from the heightened scrutiny of being Champions. It's a complete turnaround from last season and the manager needed to bed in players like Kerkez and Frimpong in the positions they were bought for right from the start and ride out those bumps even if it meant losses. I mean all this talk about Frimpong standing in for Salah is nonsense ,he's a RB who was used effectively in that position by Alonso and his partnership and understanding with Wirtz was at times spectacular. Isak and Ekitike are very different players than Nunez and Diaz ,both are less competitive in the press from the front and the days of your RB and LB racing up the wing in the knowledge that position will be ably covered by a winger dropping back to cover are sadly over. Liverpool have long since moved on from this and the dip has been telling ,the overall confidence in said FB's has been drained by the managers obvious distrust in their ability to function there when both are very capable. It's definitely been a case of the manager squeezing square pegs in round holes this season and as a fan that's something we all could do without. Like I said ,Liverpool are a complete different animal from last season and if the managers machinations are to be more progressive than last then oversee it ,don't be getting stuck in the middle of two footballing philosophies and stay on the page.
Absolutely shocking revelation that. Who knew it'd be difficult to replace the best attacking fullback in the world? Apart from his obvious creativity, one thing we're really missing is his ball progression. Look how deep Wirtz, for example has to drop to receive the ball.
No one mentioning it. I guess they just don't want to admit it. Salah has been sussed without his cover
Is this meant to be some big revelation? I've regularly said on here we've lost two of our top players in Trent and Diaz (and other key squad players) - and another key player obviously in Jota - so of course that will be missed anyway. Then you combine that with other key players from last season performing poorly and that's before having to bed in new players. Most of yesterday's team were here last season. I thought a title was unrealistic this season but naturally you put the pressure on yourselves with the money that was spent (money that wasn't spent last season). We miss Trent's ability to move the ball forward quickly and split defences, but I think Diaz has been a bigger miss so far from last season. Trent wasn't one of our better players last year.
Might as well just give up and shu the whole club down. They have no chance vs a team that never wins anything.
Salah's cover? The right back that we was grilled about because he couldn't defend? Make it make sense please.
He was always going to be missed, but he did miss much of last season with injury and had some honking performances last season when he was fit. We certainly haven't missed him defensively as he didn't bother to defend much anymore, but Salah has missed him as he got the ball into his feet more in good areas.
Despite all the doom and gloom around the three losses, you have to say they are three losses at extremely hard places to go, Chelsea, Palace and Galatasaray are three very testing fixtures for anyone, we've been beaten by a single goal three times, twice with extremely late goals and the CL defeat via a piss poor penalty (Isak didnt get a pen yesterday for similar if not a worse offence). What we need is a run of "easier games" to get a run going. Its been a testing start to the season but at least we have three of our harder PL away matches out of the way.
I think he tried to go back to "basics" yesterday by playing only Isak and Kerkez (and the enforced keeper change) of the new signings.While players adapt to a new league etc Salah becomes even more important.
