When Slot arrived in 2024, he said he would try to “find the balance between trying to create chaos at certain times and trying to keep possession of the ball a little longer at other times.”
Last season he managed to find the balance perfectly. This season he has faltered on both sides of the fence.
At the start of the campaign, Liverpool looked to blow teams away with a reckless playing style and numerous players in advanced positions.
The idea was to play a 4-2-3-1 with Florian Wirtz, Mo Salah and Cody Gakpo supplying the ammunition to Alexander Isak or Hugo Ekitike.
However, after seven wins to start the season, Liverpool’s cracks began to show.
The Reds’ worst results since 1953 followed, with the low point being 3-0 and 4-1 home defeats to Nottingham Forest and PSV at the end of November.
Slot had to stop the rot, and he did. Liverpool went from losing nine games in twelve to going on a nine-match unbeaten run.
Although they have stopped the wave of goals going into their own net, it has come at a cost: they are now accused of losing their identity.
Dropping Salah to play Dominik Szoboszlai on the right wing was just the first step on this path.
While Liverpool used to be a fearless side, they are now timid, afraid to make mistakes with tactics that too often hamper the natural instincts of their most talented players.
The numbers behind Liverpool’s attacking struggles
Facing Fulham, Liverpool failed to produce a shot on target apart from their two goals, and against Leeds they achieved a post-shot expected goals (PSxG) of just 0.77.
A similar example is Liverpool’s home match against Sunderland, which ended 1-1.
What are Expected Goals After Shot (PSxG)?
Post-shot expected goals are the predicted number of goals a team should score based on the accuracy of shots taken.
E.g. A shot placed in the top corner has a higher PSxG rating than a shot placed in the middle. Efforts that go broad are rated as zero.
At Anfield, the Reds scored 23 shots but created only one big chance FotMobAnd produced 0.74 PSxG.
So while the flow of goals may have been halted in Liverpool’s goal, they are struggling to get them at the other end.
Intensity used to be Liverpool’s identity
A sign reading “intensity is our identity” once adorned a wall of the coach office. Well, that must have been removed because the Reds are more passive than intense these days.
Against Fulham, Wirtz was visibly frustrated in the first half as he tried to push his team forward as he and Szoboszlai were effectively left to their own devices.
Marco Silva’s side cut through Liverpool’s first lines of defense with ease and while they may not ultimately create much in the final third, neither did the Reds.
In theory, Liverpool’s new center block should allow them to break quickly, but for that they at least need fast players. A front two of Wirtz and Gakpo simply does not offer that.
And this is where Slot can arguably pick up some slack.
Liverpool came into the campaign with fewer attackers than last season. They also came into the season knowing that AFCON would take away Salah.
The injuries weren’t kind either. Hugo Ekitike dropped out on Sunday because, according to the head coach, he played too often.
Alexander Isak is injured and Federico Chiesa is probably not at the required level.
At this point, Slot probably doesn’t have the resources to play the way he wants, hence the negative tactics on display.
However, Jurgen Klopp was also no stranger to injury crises. As he tinkered with the system, he often relied on youth to fill the gaps left by absent seniors.
Talented left winger Rio Ngumoha could have been given the opportunity to feature several times this season.
However, he has only played 48 minutes in the league, despite his development reportedly being the reason Liverpool did not pursue Rodrygo or another more experienced striker this summer.
OK, Ngumoha and Chiesa aren’t the answer to all of Liverpool’s problems, but a coach whose ‘football philosophy hasn’t changed’, according to Slot himself, would rather have stuck to his guns.
He could have put his faith in fringe players and coached them to get better. That has not been the case so far.
The “safety first” approach is a sign of shaky beliefs
Some of the changes have been compared to the beginning of the end for Brendan Rodgers, when he went unbeaten for 13 league games when he switched to a back three and played Emre Can in defence.
It was a temporary change, but it was not a long-term solution or system in which Liverpool could ever flourish.
This is where we currently stand with Liverpool: Slot is plugging holes and doing his best to plug the leaks, but in doing so we are losing the core of what made Liverpool great.
Now the chaos Slot wanted is on the wrong side and the possession his side ‘killed teams’ with last season is ineffective and easy for the opposition to deal with.
If Liverpool are to reignite their flame, better balance must be the goal they aim for.
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