Where is the true Liverpool? Inconsistency characterizes their campaign.
BRIGHTON & HOVE, England — Which version of Liverpool will we see? The past four days have perhaps illustrated the Reds’ inconsistent nature more than ever.
Dominant against Galatasaray earlier in the week, Arne Slot’s team stumbled once more in their return to Premier League play, suffering a 2-1 defeat away to a strong Brighton & Hove Albion. Liverpool’s frustrating inconsistency has led to a weak defense of their league title this season, and this latest setback could have serious implications for their hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.
As the match approached its conclusion on Saturday afternoon, Liverpool found themselves with two midfielders in defensive roles and their most dangerous attacking option being 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha. This situation starkly reflects a season characterized by turmoil and a lack of the control that previously guided the Reds to the title.
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Liverpool has now experienced 10 league losses this season, marking their highest total since the 2015-16 season when Jurgen Klopp took over from Brendan Rodgers midseason. Their current total of 42 goals conceded has already surpassed the figures from each of the last two seasons.
After making headlines for positive reasons, Slot now finds himself frequently breaking unwanted records. Wednesday’s Champions League victory over Galatasaray helped alleviate some of the pressure following last weekend’s disappointing draw with Tottenham Hotspur, which resulted in some home fans booing Slot and his players at Anfield. However, confidence on Merseyside is fragile this season, and Liverpool’s recent performance will do little to reassure Slot’s detractors that he is the right choice for the long term.
It is worth noting that Liverpool’s preparation for their match against Brighton was less than ideal. Both Mohamed Salah and goalkeeper Alisson Becker were sidelined due to injury, and Slot’s squad had approximately 60 hours to recuperate from their European match. The disparity in fitness levels between the visitors and their hosts — Brighton had not played since their match against Sunderland the previous Saturday — was evident, although this does not excuse Liverpool’s subpar display.
The absence of top scorer Hugo Ekitike, who left the field with a dead leg within the first eight minutes, also did not aid Liverpool’s situation. The Premier League champions could only blame themselves when a miscommunication between goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili and center back Ibrahima Konaté resulted in a needless throw-in that allowed Danny Welbeck to score against the run of play in the 14th minute.
Milos Kerkez took advantage of a mistake by Lewis Dunk to equalize after half an hour, but by the time Welbeck netted again in the second half, it was difficult to argue that Brighton did not merit the lead. Had it not been for a couple of outstanding saves by Mamardashvili after the break, Liverpool could have faced a much heavier defeat.
Perhaps the most concerning aspect for Slot will be the lack of potency in his team’s attack. Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo both forced saves from Bart Verbruggen, yet the Brighton defense rarely appeared significantly challenged.
The Liverpool manager has frequently cited the opposition’s tendency to sit deep and absorb pressure as a reason for his team’s creative struggles, but this justification does not hold in this instance. Brighton is among the few Premier League teams still willing to engage offensively, yet the Reds still found it difficult to create clear opportunities.
For the 27th time in 31 league matches this season, Liverpool were outrun by their opponents, with only Chelsea (30) performing worse in this regard. While such statistics should not always be the sole measure of success — Liverpool were outrun in 26 out of 38 Premier League matches in 2021-22 and still accumulated 92 points — in light of this season’s disappointing results, they do not present a favorable picture.
“I could come up and tell you all the reasons why we have lost this season,” Slot stated. “You just heard about late goals and I think today sums it all up in terms of injury problems this season. To go without three great goal scorers never helped any team and against the right fullback position.
“That’s not my job to find excuses. My job is to find answers, and that’s what I tried to do again today. That worked out, in my opinion, not too bad in the first 45 minutes because we were playing with them, and we were in my opinion close. They were a few times close, we were a few times close. In the second half they were the better team.”
Too frequently this season, Liverpool have found themselves second best. Too often they have failed to seize the moment when the opportunity has presented itself.
Too often, Slot and his players have simply not met the challenge. That, at this moment, is the true Liverpool.
