Liverpool’s Struggles: A Title Defense in Crisis

Liverpool Football Club has invested £450 million in new signings this summer to solidify its status as a dominant force in England, following the triumph of securing their 20th league championship last season. However, after 12 tumultuous games in their title defense, Arne Slot’s squad is on track to become the Premier League’s worst-ever defending champions.

Once celebrated as the ideal successor to Jürgen Klopp, Slot has faced a starkly different challenge this season while attempting to navigate Liverpool into a new era with minimal changes. The 47-year-old manager is now grappling with a team that is on the brink of making history for all the wrong reasons.

The team’s star, Mohamed Salah, has seen a decline in his goal-scoring form. Significant summer signings, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, both exceeding £100 million in cost, have not met expectations, and Ibrahima Konaté has epitomized a defensive struggle that has resulted in the team conceding more league goals than it has scored.

The air of invincibility surrounding the defending champions has been shattered, even at Anfield. The recent 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest marked a disturbing milestone — the first time since 1965 that Liverpool has lost successive league games by three goals. This defeat contributed to the team’s alarming run of six losses in their last seven league matches, dropping from the top spot to 11th position since September 27.

Only Chelsea, under José Mourinho in the 2014-15 season, started their title defense worse, with seven losses in their first 12 matches. That poor performance ultimately led to Mourinho’s dismissal just seven months after securing the title for the Blues.

Historically, Blackburn Rovers and Leicester City are the only other teams to have recorded as many as six defeats in their opening dozen matches as defending champions. Blackburn managed to stabilize and finishing seventh in the 1995-96 season, while Leicester, after firing their title-winning coach Claudio Ranieri in February 2017, ended the season in 12th place — marking the lowest finish for a Premier League champion.

Liverpool now faces questions about whether they are headed for a similarly dismal finish or if Slot can reverse the downward trend and steer the team toward a successful campaign.

Despite the current turmoil, many believe Liverpool can emerge from their losing streak and secure a top-four finish. However, the experiences of Chelsea, Blackburn, and Leicester serve as cautionary tales of rapid declines in form. The pressure mounts on Slot to turn the situation around swiftly.

“Of course there is a way out, especially with the quality players we have,” Slot stated post-defeat. “But I want to emphasize that I am responsible for the current losses. You are responsible when you are winning, but also when you are losing. I can never come up with enough excuses for the results we have achieved. That is far from good enough, and I take full responsibility.”

The team’s captain, Virgil van Dijk, echoed the sentiment, asserting that players must share accountability while questioning whether all teammates are fully committed to turning things around. “As champions, we cannot be in this situation, but it’s a reality. What are we going to do about it? We must strive to improve. The key is for everyone to take responsibility. Are they doing that? I don’t know, but it is essential.”

Slot faces numerous issues, many of which present no straightforward solutions. Defensively, alongside van Dijk, Konaté’s dip in form is concerning, yet Slot lacks alternatives as the failure to secure Crystal Palace’s Marc Guéhi on deadline day looms over the squad.

Liverpool’s backup option, 18-year-old Giovanni Leoni, who was signed from Parma, recently suffered a cruciate ligament injury and will be sidelined until next season. The loss of form from Konaté has certainly had a ripple effect on van Dijk, compounded by the prolonged absence of goalkeeper Alisson Becker, who only returned against Forest after an injury.

Slot has also delayed in realizing that Milos Kerkez is too inexperienced to replace Andy Robertson at left-back. The impact of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure to Real Madrid is now being felt weekly at right-back, where Liverpool has often had to adapt by playing midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai.

With a defense that has become increasingly inconsistent, Liverpool’s midfielders are struggling under pressure, particularly when Wirtz is in the lineup. The young German has yet to score or assist in 11 Premier League appearances, although he has managed two assists in four Champions League matches. His difficulty coping with the physicality and pace of the league has been noticed by opponents, who are exploiting his vulnerabilities.

In attack, Liverpool’s struggles are particularly notable given the wealth of talent at their disposal. Isak has yet to score a league goal since joining from Newcastle, while Salah, last season’s Footballer of the Year, appears to be performing like a player regretting his decision to sign a new contract instead of seeking new opportunities. Meanwhile, Hugo Ekitike, once seen as a promising addition, has scored only once in nine appearances, with no league goals in over two months.

Salah’s impending departure to the Africa Cup of Nations next month may provide Slot with an opportunity to field Isak, Wirtz, and Ekitike, allowing them to take center stage. However, none of these players have demonstrated they are ready to meet the challenge.

Ultimately, it falls on Slot to navigate this turbulent period and ensure that Liverpool does not end the season as the worst defending champions in Premier League history.