Liverpool Crisis Deepens After Chelsea Defeat as Arne Slot’s Bold Decisions Backfire
Although this may seem like a harsh early assessment of the Premier League holders after they won their first five league games, Liverpool’s “mess” is worse than it first appeared because Arne Slot’s team’s current form means they have no chance of winning the Premier League title this season.
As of right now, Liverpool will not win the Premier League this season.
Liverpool’s successful start to the new season was largely due to their champion mindset and individual performances, but this covered up the flaws and it was only a matter of time until they were revealed.
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This occurred during their well-earned losses to Galatasaray and Crystal Palace, but their performance against Chelsea was even more worrisome.
Due to their prior concerning performances, Liverpool’s head coach Arne Slot had to change the team’s style of play to accommodate a natural No. 10 and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s lack of inventiveness.
He also had to deal with a massive squad upheaval following a £400 million+ acquisition.
Following the 1-0 loss against Galatasaray, Jamie Carragher asserted that Liverpool has to go back to their previous performance since “they are playing basketball” and don’t appear to be a “top team.”
“As of right now, it is a mess, so I think [Florian Wirtz] needs to leave the team so that Liverpool can return to their previous level and then try to build some confidence and defensive solidity.”
Carragher can also be credited with helping to make the changes for the Chelsea match after Slot disregarded his advise after Liverpool’s 4-2 victory over AFC Bournemouth on the opening day.
For a second crucial Premier League game, Slot did indeed bench Wirtz. Conor Bradley began ahead of Jeremie Frimpong at right-back, and Dominik Szoboszlai returned to midfield.
The fact that they were still a “mess” against Chelsea is concerning. Although they had a strong start, Liverpool quickly lost control of the game and were severely punished by former target Moises Caicedo, who was given too much room to move forward before hammering the ball into the top corner from 20 yards out.
Due to a significant lack of cohesiveness and accurate play, Liverpool was left in disbelief as they began to resemble a randomly selected XI of players in the same team for the first time.
All of their starters were guilty of wayward passes and schoolboy mistakes. With so many players performing well below the enormous standards set last season, Cody Gakpo was maybe the lone bright spot in an otherwise terrible team performance.
Slot responded to this by benching Bradley, who was on a yellow card and would have been sent off if he had stayed on, and moving Szoboszlai back to right-back while Wirtz took his place in the No. 10 position.
Mohamed Salah was anonymous, Ibrahima Konate was reckless, Alexis Mac Allister was chasing shadows, and the two reckless full-backs were controlled by their wingers.
This switch nearly paid off right on when Wirtz sent a beautiful pass to Salah, who missed Liverpool’s best opportunity of the match with a wide shot.
Liverpool, who were let off the hook by a philanthropic Chelsea squad that was missing nine first-team players due to injury, were improved by Wirtz’s halftime change and the following additions of Andy Robertson and Curtis Jones to replace Milos Kerkez and Konate.
After an accidental lay-off due to Isak’s careless touch, Slot gambled on an all-out attack, which at first paid off as Gakpo hammered the ball home from close range to equalise.
No, Gary Neville, it wasn’t his intention. It seemed obvious that Liverpool’s attackers would lead them to yet another unjustified victory after they scored.
But because Slot’s team couldn’t continue to punish Chelsea with their current form, Liverpool was just as bad after their goal as they were before their equaliser.
Rather, the Blues made a strong comeback in the closing minutes, and Estevao’s finish at the back post gave them a last-minute victory.
In a Premier League season full of late drama, Liverpool’s latest goal condemns them to their third consecutive loss and drops them one point behind new leaders Arsenal into second place.
Even with Slot’s wise pregame choices, Liverpool remains a “mess” and their issues appear to be worse than they were just a few days ago.
The head coach must act swiftly to prevent his team’s hopes of winning back-to-back Premier League crowns from stalling before the year ends.
