Liverpool manager Arne Slot joked that the best time to assess a team is at the end of the season. "The second best time" according to the Dutch captain is after 19 matches, "because by then all teams had met".
However, it is not necessary to wait until the middle of the Premier League season to see that Liverpool is in a serious crisis in their journey to defend the title. Slot's side have lost five of their 11 games - a huge number for the title race.
"It felt like too much. The last thing I want to talk about is the title, because we are actually in eighth place," Slot admitted at a press conference after a 3-0 defeat to Man City at the Etihad.
Now, the question is not whether Liverpool can defend their title or not, but whether they are capable of saving the season with a top 4 position and rebuilding their spirit towards the Champions League.
This season, The Kop have often started slowly and have to pay the price with early goals conceded. After 11 rounds, Slot's side have yet to find a satisfactory explanation for the worrying decline. Especially since they have spent more than £400 million upgrading their squad in the summer.
Slot admitted that fitness problems are seriously affecting the team. The pair Bradley and Alexis Mac Allister have only just regained their form after a long absence before the season, causing the team's balance to break down.
New signings Jeremie Frimpong and Alexander Isak were also injured shortly after arriving at Anfield, while Florian Wirtz has yet to make his mark in the Premier League.
Up front, Hugo Ekitike has partly proven their worth, but on the left wing, Milos Kerkez disappointed to the point of giving up the position to Andy Robertson - who was also in decline in form. As a result, Liverpool became a team lacking in cohesion, clearly demonstrated through the achievements since the beginning of the season.
Clearly Liverpool cannot become a team that has declined overnight. Their problems have actually existed before and are the cause of the "crazy shopping" in the past summer.
Since the beginning of the year, Liverpool have played a total of 47 matches in all competitions, but have won only 21 matches and lost 16 matches. While some mitigating factors can be cited such as the two Premier League failures coming after they won the championship it is an undeniable sign of fatigue.
It was that overload that contributed to their disastrous week in March, when Paris Saint-Germain eliminated them from the Champions League and lost to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final.
At that time, many people realized that Liverpool needed a more solid defense, a more creative midfield and a striker with better finishing ability for the 2025-2026 season. However, with more than £400 million, they have yet to address core issues, even creating new vulnerabilities.
In short, the new signings not only do not solve the old problems, but also make Liverpool more chaotic and unbalanced than ever.
