Liverpool opened 2026 in a way that made coach Arne Slot unlikely to be satisfied. After a turbulent year of 2025, from sublimation to out of sync, the Premier League champions closed the first day of the new year with a lackluster 0-0 draw against Leeds United at Anfield. This is a performance that Slot certainly does not want to watch, as a sign for the months ahead.
Last summer, many predictions said that this would be the time Slot began to lay the foundation for a dynasty at Anfield. In fact, they are pulling Liverpool back to earth. They are 12 points behind the leading team Arsenal and lack the confidence and dynamism that helped them win the championship last season. Therefore, Slot's immediate focus is to restore rhythm and vitality in his playing style.
The autumn period was a particularly heavy time, when The Kop lost 9 out of 12 matches in all competitions. The festival weeks brought signs of recovery with victories against Inter Milan, Brighton and Tottenham.
The draw against Leeds, although helping Liverpool extend their unbeaten streak to 8 matches, and also narrowing the gap with Aston Villa in third place to 1 point, still left a heavy atmosphere at Anfield. Familiar problems reappear, and Liverpool often fall into a state of lack of ideas.
This is the first 0-0 draw for the "Reds" under Slot after 84 matches in charge. Further, this is only the fourth time Liverpool has been goalless in the Premier League since the beginning of last season. However, the fact that 3 of them happened in the last 9 matches in the tournament reflects an alarming trend in the attack.
In the first half, Liverpool still had moments of creating a promising feeling. The clearest opportunity came from a situation where Hugo Ekitike headed from close range, but Lucas Perri kip can pha after a pass from Jeremie Frimpong.
After the break, the home team almost did not maintain the corresponding pressure. They only had one shot on target - a long-range shot by Dominik Szoboszlai - while captain Virgil van Dijk headed wide of the goal in a set-piece situation.
More notably, Leeds entered the match with statistics of not keeping a clean sheet in the Premier League since the end of August. Therefore, Liverpool's failure to convert the game of control into a goal became even more unacceptable.
Slot admitted that the team controlled the ball a lot but did not create enough opportunities, and to break a deep defensive system, speed, excellent individual moments and situations that could create a numerical advantage are needed.
He also pointed out that Liverpool almost scored from a set piece with Van Dijk, and Frimpong had a few one-on-one moments similar to the match against Wolves, but that was not enough to decide the match.
Slot made some changes to find a decisive goal, including withdrawing Florian Wirtz when this player could not reproduce his impressive form like in the match against Wolves.
Disappointment is evident both on the field and in the stands. With two difficult away games against Fulham and Arsenal coming soon, Liverpool understands that they need an early boost, if they do not want to push themselves into a new precarious period.
I'm not sure if we can do that in the next match. If you look at the bench, you'll see up to four players aged 19 or under, who have almost no time playing in the Premier League" - Slot said when asked about the squad rotation plan.
