Liverpool’s sluggish begins have been a serious downside this season, outlined by them matching an undesirable file set again in 1996.
It couldn’t have been a worse begin for Liverpool at Brentford, with their long-throw brilliance resulting in Dango Ouattara opening the scoring.
The sport was solely 5 minutes previous, giving the champions an instantaneous mountain to climb, in what has been a recurring theme since August.
Liverpool’s early targets conceded within the final 4 video games
Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool – 14th minute
In actual fact, soccer information editor Michael Reid has identified that Liverpool have now conceded within the opening quarter-hour of their final 4 league video games – the primary time it has occurred since January 1996.
The primary of these matches was at Crystal Palace final month, with Ismaila Sarr firing the Eagles in entrance in simply the ninth minute.
Then got here Moises Caicedo’s long-range thunderbolt to open the scoring for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, earlier than Bryan Mbeumo’s second-minute strike for Man United at Anfield final weekend.
This hapless run of 4 fixtures in a row conceding early was accomplished at Brentford, with Liverpool giving themselves an excessive amount of to do each week.
It implies that Arne Slot‘s pre-match tactical plan is basically being torn up and thrown away earlier than matches have barely began, permitting their opponents to undertake a low block.
Final season, Liverpool nonetheless weren’t excellent when it got here to conceding first, doing so 13 instances within the league, happening to win solely 4 and draw seven, dropping the opposite two.
This time round, although, they’ve gained solely as soon as and misplaced the opposite 4, with the Reds’ solely success after falling behind coming within the dramatic 3-2 victory at Newcastle in August.
This all factors in the direction of a weak mentality from Liverpool, who’re going into video games missing the main target required to retain the Premier League title.
The targets scored by Sarr, Caicedo, Mbeumo and Outtara have been all poor defensively, from tender marking to be too simple to run by means of.
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The Reds really feel like a straightforward contact, which is damning, and opponents are displaying extra struggle than they’re from minute one.
Slot himself gave a scathing verdict of Liverpool’s efficiency, when requested what dissatisfied him probably the most about it.
“Doing the fundamentals proper,” Slot mentioned.
“Though if you’re 1-0 down, 2-0 down, 3-1 down with the vitality within the stadium, that’s positively useful for them, and they’re an excellent workforce in profitable duels and profitable second balls, so it’s important to give them credit score for that as effectively, however in fact it’s arduous to win a recreation of soccer if the opposite workforce wins extra duels, extra second balls than you – particularly if that can also be one thing they’re taking part in off.
“Once more, like I’ve mentioned many instances, it’s additionally troublesome to win a recreation of soccer if the set-piece stability is of their favour.”
If Liverpool fail to cease this pattern of going 1-0 down, and enhancing many sides of their play, their season will collapse earlier than Christmas.
