Liverpool’s emphatic win over Eintracht Frankfurt was a false dawn. On Saturday evening, the Reds slumped to a fourth successive Premier League defeat against Brentford.
It’s a sad thing to suggest, but it very much seems like Liverpool are struggling to do the basics. This is a side whose cool and calculated football allowed Arne Slot to romp to the league title last season. This group couldn’t be further away from that indomitable outfit.
Who does that boil down to? The manager? The upheaval? The tactical imbalances sparked by a combination of facets? It’s all so difficult to define, and Slot is the only one who can conjure up the answers to placate the masses.
However, we must start with the backline. So much isn’t right, but Liverpool’s defence is painfully poor. Despite their world-renowned reputations, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate have flattered to deceive.
Liverpool's defensive struggles continue
Liverpool are in a crisis. It is a saving grace that the season is young enough for a four-game losing streak to not be detrimental, but this does not sugarcoat the severity of the Reds’ woes.
At the epicentre is the skipper Van Dijk, and Konate besides. The centre-backs lack any morsel of their typical security and confidence in the backline, between them winning 20 duels at the Gtech but still failing to keep a clean sheet or produce the kind of convincing display needed to stem the flow.
Defensively, the Reds are a mess. But the problems run far deeper. Van Dijk lacks his typical grace and brilliance; Konate has been below par all year.
The plain truth is the excuses are running out, and while he’s among the most talented footballers in the world, Florian Wirtz continues to be a disappointment in a Liverpool shirt, and he must be dropped from the line-up once again.
Slot must drop Florian Wirtz
When Florian Wirtz joined Liverpool this summer in a record-breaking £116m deal, most anticipated the Reds would add one of the most devastating playmakers in the world to their ranks.
And they did, but Liverpool are a team in disrepair right now, and Wirtz has failed to acclimatise to life in Slot’s squad. And against Andrews’ Bees, the fleet-footed star’s struggles continued.
He racked up two assists against Frankfurt in midweek, but the 22-year-old flattered to deceive against Brentford, with the Liverpool Echo even seeing it fit to brand him with a 4/10 match rating after an inconsequential display in red.
Perhaps most concerning is the fact that the German faded without having taken his foot off the pedal from a work-rate standpoint. To put that another way, the quality on the evening simply wasn’t there.
Minutes played
83′
Goals
0
Assists
0
Touches
54
Shots (on target)
1 (0)
Accurate passes
33/43 (77%)
Chances created
1
Dribbles
1/2
Recoveries
4
Tackles
1/1
Duels won
2/5
While the fact remains that he is among the most talented players in the Premier League, there is a bluntness about his output in Slot’s Liverpool side. The solution comes down to Slot, and Slot does not have the answer. For now, Liverpool and Wirtz’s wait for success rages on.
Indeed, Wirtz is one of the best footballers in the world, but he’s not performing, and Liverpool have got to reach beyond the box and search for left-field solutions to their current problems.
Because Slot’s solutions are falling short, so frustratingly short.
Where now? Liverpool host Aston Villa next week in the Premier League, and then they travel to Manchester City. There is much to ponder, and on the basis of the evidence, it’s unlikely that keeping an under-performing player like Wirtz in the line-up would prove the solution.
Sure, he’s got a show-stopping ability, but this hasn’t been channelled. All told, Liverpool need to make some big changes, perhaps even reverting to type. If that is the case, Wirtz does not feature in Slot’s best 11.