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It is perhaps a harsh statistic given the context of the season for Liverpool, but Arne Slot’s side now have fewer points in their last 20 games than Roy Hodgson managed during his 20-game stint as Reds’ boss.
Slot’s Liverpool have won just six of their last 20 Premier League games (30 per cent win ratio, arguably relegation form) and sit sixth, four points outside of the Champions League places.
Had referee Craig Pawson allowed Manchester City’s third goal instead of dismissing Dominik Szoboszlai, Liverpool would have finished the weekend in seventh, behind Brentford on goal difference.
The reigning champions now have as many league defeats this season as Everton, who sit only two points behind and could move ahead of their neighbours with a win on Tuesday night at home to Bournemouth.
“A feeling of anger, a feeling of disappointment, of course,” reflected a frustrated Slot in his post-match press conference.
“We are getting there, if you compare this to three or four months ago,” said Slot. “You see so much improvement, but the issue is you don't see this improvement in the league table and that is always the most important reflection of where you are.”
Slot’s right in a way. For half an hour, this was a markedly improved performance from Liverpool compared to the one in which they were resoundingly beaten at the Etihad in the reverse fixture in November. That 3-0 defeat saw just one shot on target for the Reds, who went on to lose the next two games by three goals, too (Nottingham Forest and PSV).
The head coach rightly pointed out that his side raised the intensity after the interval, but the problem for Slot is that you can’t win football matches by playing well for just 30 minutes.
You also can’t rely on “individual special moments” as the Dutchman had phrased earlier in the season. Szoboszlai certainly provided such a moment, but then Slot’s side dropped so deep and City’s equaliser seemed inevitable.
To be 1-0 up, backed by a strong Anfield crowd, with 83 minutes on the clock, and still lose, it’s not something Liverpool fans have been used to in the past decade.
Anfield used to be a fortress. Here, City walked away with their first win at Anfield in front of fans since 2003.
For Liverpool, who were again out-run by their opponent, it was their fifth home defeat of the season. In their last six home games they’ve won three; against Barnsley, Qarabag and Newcastle.
Losing, or not winning, at Anfield has been normalised and that in itself should ring alarm bells.
Of course, this result can be explained when viewed individually and in context, given that it also comes with the absence of five first-team players. But then most defeats in football can be accepted when taken only in isolation. When you add results together and see a trend, it’s far more concerning - and Liverpool’s results are far more than a poor run of form, approaching a year since defeat in the Champions League to PSG and the Carabao Cup final that signalled a seeming turning point.
A trip to Sunderland on Wednesday now looks more difficult without player of the season, Szoboszlai.
Liverpool sources, one such unnamed one in an article in the Times over the weekend, continue to back Slot, while sporting director Richard Hughes has also publicly spoken recently in support of the head coach.
In the same interview, chief executive Billy Hogan said: “This has been a challenging last several months, but I think there’s an element of patience which is required – difficult in the world we live in.”
How long will that patience last if Liverpool continue to drop away from the Champions League qualification places?
As Jamie Carragher assessed post-match: “I think if Liverpool continue the way they are with a front four and games end-to-end, I don't see how they can make the Champions League positions, at all. But no matter what he [Slot] does, the make-up of this squad, the balance of the team and the squad is not right. It never looks stable, they never look in control.”
Controlled football was what Slot brought to Liverpool last season en route to winning the league, but now, without such control, there’s a lack of identity or strength to the side.
With Manchester United and Chelsea winning again after changes in their dugouts, Slot needs more than a change of fortune to ensure patience continues to the end of the season and into the summer.
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