Questions Arise After Liverpool’s Crap Week | OneFootball

Liverpool had a similar set of misfortune this week, and we try to channel the spirit of that story in our investigation below.

They went to sleep with treble on their lips, now it’s just League in their reach.

A month ago there was hopeful talk of Liverpool winning a quadruple. Plymouth Argyle wrecked that vision. Then conversation turned to a realistic dream of grabbing a treble. But waking up on St. Patrick’s Day, Liverpool are stuck with only one goal in mind: winning the league.

With that heartbreaking elimination to PSG in the Champions League, and the subsequent defeat to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup, Liverpool lost two pieces of hardware in five days they looked destined to lift a few weeks ago.

Liverpool players are finding new best friends

It’s no secret that three of Liverpool’s finest are out of contract come June. It’s been long speculated that Trent Alexander-Arnold, the academy talisman, will depart at the end of this season. The odds money has him off to the Bernabéu, where he’ll likely face his old club in next year’s Champions League. Virgil van Dijk was spotted chatting up PSG’s Luis Campos and Nasser el-Khelaifi in the tunnels of Parc des Princes after the CL game. Who knows what that means, but speculation is high given no public comment from Liverpool on contract talks. Lastly, word on Mohamed Salah, who at 32 is unlikely to get a long contract extension, has been fully mum. This writer believes he is already locked in and the club is sitting on the news until the other two are finalized, but you never know.

Liverpool’s squad look tired

It’s been a long season already: 29 League games; 10 Champions League matches; 6 Carabao Cup ties, and more. In total, 52 games since July 26th. And while they rotate academy players in on occasion, the core team still puts in the majority of minutes on the pitch. Their shock elimination in the FA Cup was supposed to be a blessing in disguise, allowing for some additional rest. But it didn’t look like that was the case this week, as both PSG and Newcastle were able to impose their will on a team that until now looked nigh unbeatable.

With only one new field signing in the past two windows, Federico Chiesa, the club’s decision to sit with the hand Klopp left them is beginning to look a bit misguided.

Arne Slot’s aura is dimming

Any bumps in the road are bound to be blamed on the driver; this is the way of it. Questions have emerged on Slot’s tactics. Should he have started eight players who were in that PSG CL tie? Why did he have so many A-listers starting at Southampton? And so on.

Any grumblings will subside if Liverpool win the upcoming Merseyside Derby. This also moves their magic number to clinch to the title to five. If Slot and the Reds are lifting the EPL trophy on May 25th at Anfield, then all this speculation flies out the window like a flicked booger. But if they don’t….

Perhaps Slot will move to Australia.