Instability has become a clear characteristic of Liverpool under coach Arne Slot this season. The Anfield team played lacklusterly and lacked determination in the defeat to Brighton, but in fact, signs of that poor performance have appeared since midweek.
Every match should be the same. But that's not easy. Champions League under the Anfield lights, beautiful weather, good pitch, is completely different from having to play at 12:30 pm at Brighton stadium" - Dominik Szoboszlai said after the 4-0 victory over Galatasaray.
Even after the impressive victory in Europe, Arne Slot remained cautious. He soon lowered expectations before the away trip to Brighton: "We want to maintain this level, but this is the fifth or sixth time we only have two days off before an early match. That's not good. Players are prone to injury in this period.
We should have needed more time to recover. Brighton is a strong opponent, and we will try our best, but cannot compare with Galatasaray".
Those concerns quickly became reality. Mohamed Salah was not fit enough to play, Hugo Ekitike left the field early due to injury. The 1-2 defeat caused Liverpool to drop out of the top 4 when the season only had 7 rounds left.
However, mentioning fatigue can be a double-edged sword. As a former Liverpool player commented, when players are "allowed" to feel tired, it can easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Liverpool seems to have proactively reduced the burden throughout the season, and that directly affects the playing style. The intensity of pressing - once the identity under Jurgen Klopp - is now almost gone.
Statistics clearly show the change. The Kop once led the Premier League in terms of distance traveled, but this season they are in the top three lowest teams - for the first time since the data was recorded.
Although only a reference index, it has clearly reflected the trend. Liverpool is no longer as energetic a team as before. The PPDA index - a measure of pressing intensity - also shows a decline. From the leading position under Klopp, Liverpool is currently only ranked eighth.
Slot aims for a slower ball control style, but has difficulty penetrating the opponent's defense. He complains about dependence on set pieces, while Arsenal - the top team - takes advantage of this factor very well.
The victory over Galatasaray shows that Liverpool is still playing best when pushing up the tempo, recalling the image of their peak period. But the fact that they cannot or do not want to maintain that - both physically, mentally and tactically - has become a problem throughout the season.
Of course, looking at the current standings, this defeat is very painful and we deserve to suffer a big loss. But the main problem is that we are in this position because we lost one point against Wolves in the last minute due to a shot that changed direction.
Tottenham's goal last week in the 90th minute, I think, is even bigger than losing at Brighton's stadium" - Arne Slot shared.
