Liverpool’s crisis deepens as manager Arne Slot searches for answers | OneFootball

Liverpool was tipped to turn the Premier League title race into a prolonged coronation this season, but instead, the champions find themselves plunged into an unexpected crisis after their latest shocking defeat.

The Reds were beaten 3-2 by Brentford on Saturday, suffering their fourth consecutive league defeat. Coming right after their first loss to Manchester United at Anfield since 2016, Liverpool suddenly looks more vulnerable than at any other point in the Arne Slot era.

The English side is stuck in sixth place after four defeats in their first nine league games, while leaders Arsenal have taken over as the main title contenders. Liverpool, for their part, have already lost as many Premier League games this season as they did in their entire title-winning campaign.

It’s a remarkable fall after Slot’s team lifted the trophy last season, finishing 10 points ahead of Arsenal and securing the title with four games to spare.

Buoyed by a £446 million ($593 million) spending spree in the transfer window, Liverpool began the season as favorites to extend their dominance with a record 21st English title. However, Liverpool’s decision to overhaul their already established squad seems to have backfired.

The club broke their transfer record twice in the summer with blockbuster signings: midfielder Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen and striker Alexander Isak from Newcastle.

Slot also brought in Hugo Ekitike, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Milos Kerkez, and Jeremie Frimpong, while Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Díaz, Darwin Núñez, and Jarell Quansah were among the notable departures from Anfield. There were early signs that Slot’s overhaul would not be smooth when Liverpool lost on penalties to Crystal Palace in the Community Shield.

Although the Reds won their first seven games in all competitions this season, they rarely impressed and needed late goals to secure victory in six of those matches.

Palace gave Liverpool a taste of their own medicine with a late goal in a 2-1 win, which finally exposed the flaws in Slot’s team. Defeats to Galatasaray and Chelsea followed, before United emerged from their own crisis to claim a 2-1 victory at Anfield.

When Brentford punished Liverpool’s sloppy defense and left the champions in turmoil, Slot looked increasingly perplexed on the sidelines.

Photo: GLYN KIRK / AFP

“Nowhere near enough”

Slot’s problems are spread throughout the team, with Wirtz completely out of sync, while Isak, the British record signing, has scored just one goal in eight games. Mohamed Salah has been subdued since the end of last season, and Slot has already benched him twice this campaign in an attempt to reignite the Egyptian forward.

Frimpong and Kerkez are struggling at full-back, and even captain Virgil van Dijk is below expectations, while Liverpool are being targeted by a barrage of long balls. The tragic death of Diogo Jota in a car accident during pre-season has also left its mark.

But most alarming for Liverpool fans is Slot’s admission that he has no answers for the pressure being applied to his fragile defense by opponents’ direct tactics.

“Teams seem to have a certain style of play against us, which is a very good strategy, and we haven’t found an answer yet. You can’t even compete, which we’re not doing at the moment, because we’re simply conceding too many goals,” he said.

Photo: GLYN KIRK / AFP

“It definitely also has to do with the fact that you change a lot during the summer, so I don’t think it’s a surprise that something like this can happen. But I didn’t expect it to be four defeats in a row, let that be clear,” Slot added.

Liverpool is only the fourth reigning champion to lose four consecutive games. It’s also the first time they’ve lost four league games in a row since February 2021.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.