Liverpool slipped to their fourth successive defeat in the Premier League on Saturday evening.
Brentford claimed a 3-2 win over Arne Slot’s side to leave the champions seven points behind table-toppers Arsenal. The Reds, who started the season with five wins from five, are now seventh and just three points ahead of 13th-placed Brighton.
Liverpool had the second-best defensive record in the league last season en route to the title. But after nine games in 2025-26, only five teams have conceded more than Liverpool. And four of those happen to be in a relegation battle.
Their attempts to retain their title are coming to a premature end unless Slot can miraculously turn this around. The way they’re currently playing, a top-four finish might even be a bit of an ask. The Dutch tactician needs to go back to basics to get his team back on track. It is possible, but he needs to act sooner rather than later.
In this article, we’ll cover:
Dabble sign-up offer: Bet £10+ & Receive £10 In Free Bets
Not signed up to Dabble yet? Here's how to claim the Bet £10+ & Receive £10 In Free Bets welcome offer:
- Sign up to Dabble through this link
- Register your account with accurate personal details
- Place your first bet of £10 or more
- Receive your £10 in free bets when your qualifying bet has setted
- Use your Free Bet on any eligible sportsbook market within 7 days
#AD 18+ 7-day free bet expiry. Stake not returned. Promotional Terms Apply. GambleAware.org
Square pegs, round holes
This is one of Liverpool’s biggest issues right now.
Slot was given a difficult task in the summer. Liverpool made seven first-team signings, with Slot asked to bed them all in at the same time. To complicate things further, the majority of these arrivals happened to be in key areas.
The Reds signed a new full-back pairing in Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez while promoting Conor Bradley as they looked to fill the void left by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure. They added three attackers in Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak. The arrival of Wirtz also meant that there was a change in the dynamic of the team with Slot moving away from using Dominik Szoboszlai as an attacking midfielder and using him more in a double pivot.
In a nutshell, every part of the Liverpool team had changes made to it.
But you could see the logic to these signings. There’s not really a replacement for Alexander-Arnold out there so it’s futile to look to keep the tactics the same.
On paper, the midfield double pivot helps the Reds overcome the lack of progressive passers in the Liverpool defence. The roadrunner full-backs give this team energy in wide areas and create space for the forwards. You then have Mo Salah and Wirtz providing the ammo for one of Ekitike or Isak.
But this hasn’t been put into practice. Instead, we’re seeing a team made up of square pegs being used in round holes.
Misuse of players
Kerkez received praise for his high energy and ability to get the ball into the box for Bournemouth. But he’s being used as a third centre-back in the build-up, and rarely tasked with attacking.
Wirtz was a two-time German Player of the Year coming inside from the left for Bayer Leverkusen. Slot has used him pretty much everywhere but there for Liverpool. In his last two appearances, Wirtz has played as a right-sided midfielder, an attacking midfielder, in a double pivot and as a left-winger for a brief period.
His touches are down and he’s nowhere near as much of a threat. And people wonder why he’s struggling.
The use of Salah has raised eyebrows too. And the decision to task Ryan Gravenberch, a ball-carrier, with being a key part of the build-up, has seen Liverpool struggle to break down low blocks.
Slot needs to play to the strengths of his players and if it means some miss out on a place in the starting XI, so be it.
Decide on a plan and stick to it
Last season, Liverpool had a clear playing style and plan under Slot. This season, not so much. In an attempt to get the best out of his new signings, the former Feyenoord boss is trying different things.
But these feel like short-term solutions rather than a long-term fix. At times, they’re not even viewed as a 90-minute fix. If the Reds aren’t winning after 60 minutes, the tactic seems to be to just throw on as many attackers as possible. It’s why we’ve had games in which Szoboszlai has been at right-back with Wirtz in a double pivot with four attackers ahead of him. There’s no control. There’s no plan. Currently, Slot is approaching this on a game-by-game basis and it’s why there’s no consistency in performances or results.
The players need to know what the long-term goal is. This group needs to know what their identity is as a team. The manager needs to work towards that long-term goal and accept that there will be teething issues in the short-term. Ride it out and Liverpool will be rewarded. Especially with this group of players.
Reward form
Since arriving in the summer of 2024 to replace Jurgen Klopp, Slot has been fairly rigid. Last season, he had his clear favourites and he didn’t do anything to hide this. After a summer of change, the assumption was that he now had a squad he fully trusted and would use accordingly.
This isn’t the case though.
Curtis Jones, for example, made quite the impression having come off of the bench against Arsenal in August. He had started the second game of the season against Newcastle United but didn’t start again until the loss against Brentford.
Szoboszlai had impressed in midfield against Eintracht Frankfurt and started the game against the Bees in a double pivot. He played well but was eventually moved to right-back. Szoboszlai was later restored to midfield and showed what he can do with a late assist.
Ekitike was the bright spark early on in the season but found himself benched with Isak leading the line. Wirtz impressed against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, but his reward was to be benched for the game against Everton.
Federico Chiesa has been impactful whenever given the opportunity. But he’s rarely rewarded for it. Instead, he’s used when the Reds need something.
If there are consequences for playing poorly and an incentive to perform well off of the bench, performances will improve. Slot needs to use form and momentum to help the Reds get out of this funk.