Ahead of their showdown at Chelsea, we assess the champions’ recent form, defensive issues, and more
Football writer Ben Bloom sets the stage for Chelsea v Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, weighing up form, injuries and records.
As much as Arne Slot has repeatedly pushed back at any suggestion that his Liverpool tenure has been easy, there can be no disputing just how smoothly things have gone so far under his watch.
A runaway Premier League triumph in his first campaign paved the way for a staggeringly fruitful summer of transfer dealings and a perfect start to Liverpool’s title defence with five wins from their opening five matches.
What a difference a week makes. After back-to-back defeats at Crystal Palace last Saturday and Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, Slot suddenly seems to have a host of issues to address.
As club legend Jamie Carragher bluntly put it on CBS Sports: “Right now, it is a mess.”
Slot would have solid evidence to dispute such a damning verdict, pointing to a Premier League table that still has the reigning champions clear at the summit.
But the warning signs of frailty that were apparent during some narrow early-season wins have now come to a head, and Saturday’s trip to Stamford Bridge has taken on even greater importance.
Can Slot halt the slide? Or might Liverpool find themselves relinquishing their lead by the end of the weekend?
Lucky leaders?
After a first season of minimal change (with Federico Chiesa the sole incoming player), Slot opted to ring the changes during the summer.
The club spent a reported sum of close to £450million on Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Armin Pecsi and Giovanni Leoni.
That startling outlay prompted many people to suggest the title was destined to remain at Anfield, especially when Slot’s side won their opening five league fixtures of the campaign.
But those victories were rarely comprehensive, as Liverpool became the first team ever to win four successive Premier League matches with the decisive goal scored in the last 10 minutes or later.
Watch all of Liverpool’s late winners
Indeed, six games into the season, Slot’s side are just eighth in the table for Expected Points (xG) – based on the quality of chances created compared to those given away – suggesting they are perhaps fortunate to be currently leading the Premier League.
“We need to do better,” admitted Slot this week, after watching his side slip to successive defeats for only the second time on his watch.
Defensive issues
In an ominous sign for what was to come, Liverpool began last season by conceding just two goals in their opening seven league matches. In stark contrast, they are currently on a five-game streak without a clean sheet across all competitions.
The vulnerability at the back and widespread openness prompted Carragher to suggest in the Telegraph this week that a Liverpool match feels like “watching a game of basketball more than football”.
Defensive errors have become a worryingly regular occurrence, with centre-back Ibrahima Konate – who endured a torrid time in last week’s defeat at Selhurst Park – coming in for particular criticism.
“He’s been one of the [players who have made errors],” admitted Slot of Konate’s propensity to give the ball away. “But he’s definitely not the only one.
“In the last two games, it’s been obvious and clear that we’ve made a few errors that we’re not used to.”
Another area of weakness has been at full-back, where efforts to move on from the Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson era have not been without troubles.
Frimpong and Kerkez are yet to hit the heights that contributed to their Anfield moves, while Dominik Szoboszlai – who conceded the penalty from which Galatasaray scored on Tuesday – has been regularly deployed as a makeshift right-back.
However, Slot has dismissed those concerns and instead suggested the key issue is dealing with set-pieces.
“One of our strengths last season was keeping the other team away from our goal and normally that doesn’t start with your defenders,” he said.
“Look into more details – we’ve conceded four goals from set-pieces this season. We’ve changed our full-backs – we’ve changed a bit more than our full-backs – but when I think about the goals we’ve conceded, the first thing that comes to mind is not that the full-backs are a problem.
“We have to prove in the upcoming games and months that we don’t normally concede from set-pieces. It’s something we definitely have to improve. I see teams in the Premier League that win games by set-pieces, and we lose games by set-pieces.”
What to do with Wirtz?
It comes with the territory of becoming a British-record signing (albeit only briefly, until Isak surpassed his fee), but the sky-high expectation on Wirtz’s shoulders is yet to be matched by the German’s performances.
In eight competitive appearances so far for his new club, Wirtz has not registered a goal or assist – not quite the start to Anfield life he would have hoped.
That lack of output has prompted some strong words from leading figures.
“I don’t see where Wirtz gets into the team,” said Wayne Rooney on The Wayne Rooney Show. “I think Wirtz actually damages the balance of Liverpool and how they play.”
Carragher has suggested that Wirtz’s introduction into the team has caused Liverpool to lose their intensity in pinning back opponents high up the pitch, presenting Slot with the dilemma of whether to continue with the current misfiring strategy or leave the German out and revert to last year’s successful formula.
“He’s just not at the races at all,” Carragher said of Wirtz on CBS Sports. “He’s a young boy coming into a new league – he has got plenty of time to go as a Liverpool player.
“But right now, I think he needs to come out of the team, Liverpool go back to what they were last season and then go from there and build some confidence, build some defensive solidity.”
Yet, while the outcome is lacking, there have been plenty of moments when Wirtz has shone with his creativity and eagerness to receive the ball.
Indeed, no Premier League player has created more chances across all competitions this season than the Liverpool man.
Most chances created 25/26 (all comps)
Perhaps the likes of Isak, Ekitike and Mohamed Salah just need to finish those chances.
What will Stamford Bridge bring?
After losing at Palace and Galatasaray, Slot’s side now continue their travels with a trip to Stamford Bridge.
It is a stadium they last emerged victorious from in September 2020, while they have also lost their last three matches in London.
But all is not entirely well with Chelsea, who have suffered consecutive Premier League defeats after a similar summer of big change, and will be without a host of key players for Liverpool’s visit.
Levi Colwill, Andrey Santos, Dario Essugo, Cole Palmer, Liam Delap, Tosin Adarabioyo and Wesley Fofana are all injured, while Trevoh Chalobah is suspended for Saturday’s match.
Chelsea have ended their last two Premier League games with 10 men, and Joao Pedro was then sent off in injury time of their midweek Champions League triumph over Benfica.
Indeed, since the start of last season, Chelsea have received more cards (114 yellow, four red) than any other Premier League side.
“I don’t see any discipline problem,” insisted Enzo Maresca.
The hosts’ multiple absentees could open the door for Liverpool to return to winning ways and quell talk of any prematurely diagnosed malaise at the current champions.
Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones certainly does not believe recent poor results should take on any extra significance.
“It’s just part of the game,” said Jones. “I say it all the time, you must be mad if you think you can win every game.
“It’s normal if you lose. It’s just [a matter of] how you bounce back.”