Liverpool: Don’t panic

The last time Liverpool lost three successive matches, the landscape looked very different.

It was April 2023 when a disconsolate Jurgen Klopp admitted they were fortunate to get away with a 4-1 defeat at the hands of a rampant Manchester City side at the Etihad. They had previously been beaten on the road by Bournemouth and Real Madrid.

Liverpool’s pursuit of Champions League qualification lay in tatters. They were a tired, ageing team in need of major surgery. A comprehensive midfield rebuild was required to rejuvenate them that summer.

Given the torrent of negativity which followed last weekend’s agonising last-gasp defeat to Chelsea, you would have thought that another season had effectively been ended in similar fashion.

In the knee-jerk world of modern football, yesterday’s world-beaters are tomorrow’s frauds. In some quarters, there’s little appreciation for the small margins which separate gutsy victories from so-called shambolic defeats. Grey areas no longer exist. Anger and vitriol reign.

Of course, there is an array of issues for Arne Slot to get to grips with and they have been well documented and analysed on The Athletic following those painful setbacks at the hands of Crystal Palace, Galatasaray and Chelsea. But there are a multitude of reasons to believe that this blip won’t develop into anything more serious.

For a start, just look at the fixtures Liverpool have already played. In their opening seven Premier League matches, Slot’s side have already faced five clubs who currently sit in the top eight. They are actually a point better off when you compare their results so far this term to the corresponding games last season.

Arsenal, who have been installed as title favourites after taking over at the top, have only faced two of the current top eight — taking just one point out of a possible six from matches against Liverpool and Manchester City.

Performances have undoubtedly been patchy but Liverpool were seconds away from securing a share of the spoils at both Selhurst Park and Stamford Bridge. In between, they were beaten by a dubious penalty away to Galatasaray. That context is important.

The narrative that the champions’ record-breaking show of ambition in the transfer market would lead to them simply blowing their rivals away this season never stood up to scrutiny. It ignored the fact that there was bound to be a period of adjustment after such sweeping changes. New relationships take time to gel and develop.

Those already questioning the merits of the new signings have short memories. Roberto Firmino, Andy Robertson and Fabinho all looked lost in the early months of their Anfield careers, but all settled and went on to become massively influential figures in a team which landed the biggest prizes. Patience is required.

Liverpool knew when they finally landed Alexander Isak for £125million ($168m) from Newcastle United on deadline day that it would take a considerable amount of time to get him up to speed, given he had missed most of pre-season after going on strike.

When Isak went away with Sweden last month, Slot was relieved that national team manager Jon Dahl Tomasson resisted the temptation to throw him straight in and only gave him one brief cameo appearance. This time around, Slot will welcome the striker having a bigger role to play for his country in the World Cup qualifiers against Switzerland and Kosovo as he continues to strive for full match fitness.

Isak should return to Merseyside sharper and better able to showcase the qualities which enabled him to score 44 Premier League goals over the past two seasons combined. Liverpool always felt it would be mid to late-October before they saw the best of him.

With Hugo Ekitike having already endeared himself to the fanbase, there’s too much attacking quality in the squad for Liverpool to keep misfiring.

Florian Wirtz is another player who should benefit from time away on international duty. The pace and physicality of English football has been a culture shock for him, but there were flashes of brilliance when he came on against Chelsea.

The £116million signing from Bayer Leverkusen is too gifted for his influence on Slot’s side not to grow considerably over the coming months. He hasn’t lived up to his billing so far but some of the criticism has been unfair. According to Opta, no player across the top five European leagues has created more chances than Wirtz’s total of 22 in all competitions so far this season. Everton’s Jack Grealish is second on 21.

Yes, Wirtz only has one assist to show for his 10 Liverpool appearances so far (in August’s Community Shield defeat to Crystal Palace), but that is partly explained by his team-mates being wasteful.

Mohamed Salah was guilty at Stamford Bridge and the Egyptian’s form has been the subject of much debate. But the sight of Manchester United, who come to Anfield on October 19, usually brings out the best in Salah. He boasts 16 goals in 17 games against United for Liverpool.

Giorgi Mamardashvili’s solid debut against Chelsea suggested that the absence of Alisson due to another hamstring injury shouldn’t be too keenly felt over the coming month.

The leadership of captain Virgil van Dijk should fuel the belief that the right response will be forthcoming. He’s been here before at Liverpool and won’t allow anyone to feel sorry for themselves.

The first rough patch of his Anfield tenure has inevitably led to Slot himself coming under fire. Some of the more ridiculous social-media hot takes after a bad week involved the questioning of the Dutchman’s credentials.

This is a coach who followed in the footsteps of an icon and surpassed all expectations in delivering the Premier League trophy at the first time of asking. To suggest he simply did it with what Klopp left behind ignores the tactical acumen, clever man-management and attention to detail which got so much more out of the squad he inherited.

Despite all the upheaval in the summer, Liverpool are a point off the top of the Premier League table. It’s been tricky, periods of transition often are, but the quality of the personnel both in the dressing room and those making the decisions points to much brighter days on the horizon.

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