Strange goings on at Liverpool sum up how quickly football can change

Liverpool's dry January continued last night as Arne Slot's side followed up a frustrating 2-2 draw with Manchester united with a 1-0 Carabao Cup semi-final first leg defeat to Tottenham.

It's the first time Liverpool have gone two matches without victory under new head coach Slot.

So what next for Liverpool after such a disappointing result at Tottenham? Our LFC jury have their say...

James Noble (Worcestershire, @james_noble98) - Liverpool facing season's first real challenge

It’s been a relatively tricky few days for Liverpool. That feeling, in many ways, is another reflection of the levels hit so far by the Reds under Arne Slot. Managing – and, hopefully, utilising – such moments are all part of the challenge of constructing strong seasons.

The second defeat of 2024/25 in all competitions, at Tottenham on Wednesday night, followed Sunday’s enthralling but frustrating Premier League draw against Manchester United. Football can change evidently quickly, which makes maintaining a level of purposeful serenity valuable.

Slot has set a good tone in that regard to date. Both last night, even with the elements of injustice around Lucas Bergvall’s winner, and after the likes of the United draw and Nottingham Forest defeat earlier this term, the Dutchman’s post-match comments have been delivered calmly, if deliberately.

Moments like these can be made useful. When channelled correctly, they can cue sharpened senses and broader improvements. The Reds defensive compactness and attacking crispness both look in need of honing, for instance.

The six-point lead in the league remains, while the Spurs scoreline is retrievable in next month’s nicely poised Anfield second leg. Accrington Stanley’s FA Cup visit on Saturday ought to bring several changes and valuable minutes for the likes of Federico Chiesa, before focus turns to Tuesday’s enticing return fixture at third-placed Forest.

Andrew Cullen (Widnes, @brothersred5) - Elliott and Szoboszlai bring more energy

After having so many weeks of good performances and results, Liverpool have felt the cold sting of a week of bad results and performances. Whilst Man United played well on Sunday, Liverpool underperformed in a game that they should have won at home. It was a similar picture mid-week in the cup tie against Tottenham: whilst Tottenham produced a vibrant performance, Liverpool were off-colour.

It is far too early to be critical of this team. The last two performances are a minor blot on what has been a pleasant landscape, but the more pressing worry is whether these performances may be the start of a mini-slump in performance. There were some who forecast that Liverpool would have a dip in form, and all eyes will now be on Slot’s Liverpool to see how they perform in the next few fixtures.

In the last two fixtures, our pressing has not been as precise as it has been. To inject more energy in the team, Slot may wish to call upon Harvey Elliott and Dominik Szoboszlai against Nottingham Forest because both appear to have unlimited energy supplies in games.

As well as a lack of energy in the team, we do also seem to be more brittle at the back. I am not convinced that the Trent Madrid saga is impacting on his performances necessarily; though, if the transfer is going to be done, it is better for it to be done quickly, rather than the issue raising its head every time Trent fails to track back or gets caught out defensively. With Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley gradually returning to full match fitness, this should be enough to fix the small leaks in our defence.

Rhys Buchanan (Aigburth, @Rhys_Buchanan) - Need to purge the cobwebs

It might have been a strange start to the year for Liverpool, but I don’t think there’s any major cause for concern as of yet. On Wednesday night’s narrow defeat against Spurs, The Reds started in second gear and barely got out of third, all the while we still posed a threat and looked capable of nicking a positive result to take into the second leg at Anfield next month, which will of course be an entirely different affair.

With our kids more than capable of getting our hat in the next round of the FA Cup this weekend, I don’t want to see our key players like Salah, Diaz, Gravenberch or Mac Allister anywhere near the starting lineup or bench for Saturday’s game against Accrington Stanley.

All eyes should be firmly fixed on the week ahead that has the potential to be season defining with two tough away fixtures against Forest and Brentford. We’re going to have to purge any cobwebs and be absolutely on it for those two games which feel absolutely massive for the healthily placed Reds.

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