Halfway through his second season in charge at Anfield, Liverpool manager Arne Slot finds his team in an unfamiliar fourth place. This starkly contrasts with his debut campaign, where the Reds held a six-point lead at the same stage. When asked if their current league position was a fair reflection, Slot offered a simple, telling response: "Yeah, yeah."
The Cost of Defensive Solidity
This admission highlights a campaign that has not unfolded as planned. Despite investing heavily in attack, with two-thirds of a £450m outlay spent on offensive talent, Liverpool's firepower has misfired. Only one player has scored more Premier League goals than Ryan Gravenberch, and only one has more in all competitions than Dominik Szoboszlai.
The issues were crystallised in a New Year's Day 0-0 draw with Leeds United, the first goalless game of Slot's tenure. When top scorer Hugo Ekitike has an off night, reliable alternative sources of goals appear scarce. The much-vaunted summer attacking quartet has failed to click: Alexander Isak is injured, Mohamed Salah is at AFCON after being dropped, and Florian Wirtz was ineffective against Leeds while nursing a minor hamstring issue.
Becoming the '20 Percenters'
Consequently, Liverpool have adopted a more pragmatic, less ambitious style. Slot describes his team as the "20 percent men," explaining that while they are usually the better side, the margin for error is minimal. "We are constantly within this 20 percent difference," he stated.
The season can be split into three distinct phases. An opening period of late wins in open games was followed by a disastrous run of six defeats in seven matches during November, which effectively ended their title defence. The current phase is an eight-match unbeaten run, built on a newfound defensive resilience but lacking attacking fluency.
"We have had our struggles throughout," admitted Slot. "Now we have been seven or eight games in a row unbeaten, but if you say this, you feel like, 'they are flying through the league'. But that is not what we are doing."
A Battle for Balance
The statistics underline the trade-off. During their unbeaten streak, Liverpool have kept four clean sheets and conceded just six goals. However, they rank only as the eighth-highest scorers in that same period. Captain Virgil van Dijk acknowledged the tactical shift, noting a greater collective emphasis on defensive work, particularly from the midfield.
Slot regularly laments his team's reliance on "a moment of magic or a set-piece" to break down stubborn defences. He believes fine margins have cost them dearly. "That could have influenced us having three, four, five, six more points, maybe," he reflected.
The challenge now is clear. Liverpool have rediscovered a solid base but have lost their attacking verve in the process. Slot's task is to merge these two elements. "I will keep pushing and the players will keep pushing to get to a situation where we are more than that 20 percent," he vowed. For now, Liverpool's season continues to be defined by this delicate, and so far elusive, balance.
