Can Liverpool keep pace with Premier League's top five? Arne Slot is in trouble if they slip away
Liverpool are struggling to keep pace with the Premier League's top five after falling to their seventh defeat of the season against Bournemouth; creativity has been stifled and Arne Slot has come in for intense criticism; Carra: Without Champions League football, Slot's job is at risk
Tuesday 27 January 2026 20:11, UK
Arne Slot cannot catch a break. Three days on from a season's best performance at Marseille in the Champions League, there Liverpool were, getting beat by Bournemouth at the Vitality. Inconsistency continues at an unfathomable rate.
Slot's side remain winless in the league this year, having only scored five goals in five matches, and now face an uphill battle to stay in contention for the Champions League spots after being overtaken by Manchester United and Chelsea in the table.
Both Brentford and Fulham have managed as many wins as Liverpool overall (10). Slot's excuses for such a record (the latest of which was the wind at Bournemouth) only serve to further eradicate the credit banked during last season's title-winning campaign. The Dutchman is now in the thick of the crossfire.
Failure to beat Newcastle at the weekend, after hosting Qarabag at Anfield on Wednesday, would represent Liverpool's worst start to a calendar year since 1954 - the last year in which they were relegated.
Here is an analysis of the most glaring issues as the defending champions strain to keep pace with the top five.
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Low block failure
"What we're seeing is a team that's not suited to the Premier League," said Jamie Carragher on Monday Night Football, referencing Liverpool's inability to break down teams who bank up by packing defences and squeezing the space.
While Bournemouth, seemingly undeterred by the south coast winds, created 2.35 worth of xG value at the weekend, Liverpool offered just 0.93 - their largest net deficit in any competition since beating PSG in France back in March. And Bournemouth are not even a side who tend to defend low.
What once was the best attacking force in the league has morphed into one of the easiest to nullify. Slot's version of control has Liverpool playing at a pedestrian pace, much simpler to contain, and far easier to predict. Dialling down the tempo of attacks has severely hampered big chance creation and shot quality (0.9), which has dipped below the league's average (0.10).
Developing from deep in the build-up phase only works if there is movement in front; a way to dislodge opposition sides from their shape. And yet Liverpool have far fewer disruptor types in order to make this style work. The likes of Luis Diaz and the late Diogo Jota ran at defences in ways that created gaps for others to exploit. It drew teams out.
This version, far more methodical, does not have the same magnetic energy. Liverpool have gone from the team who generated the most accurate switches of play across last season to now one of the least. Mohamed Salah's drop-off is another unfortunate by-product of that fact and fewer goals all round is the end result.
Lack of counter threat
And if the pace is slower, it inevitably means the cut through is less effective. Liverpool used to go from back to front in the blink of an eye and they had a myriad of ways of doing it. Crucially, though, what bound the strategy together was that everything was done with urgency.
How can a side who ranks top for chances created (278) equally place ninth for shots on target (99)? Liverpool are arriving in the final third, just without the intensity or numbers needed to convert a chance into anything meaningful.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz are the only two players in the league to complete over 400 final third passes and yet the goals for column is 21 lighter than it was at this stage last season. Creatively, Liverpool are stumped.
Fast breaks used to be a pillar of identity. They scored a league-high 14 times via that method last season. This year that tally stands at just three.
And where has the press disappeared to? Using possessions won in the attacking third as a measure (85), Liverpool's ability - or willingness - to press is less co-ordinated than Tottenham's, Everton's and Leeds', among seven others.
Set-piece seriousness
Liverpool's set-piece record at both ends of the pitch is bordering silly. No team has conceded more times from a throw-in (five). Overall, only Bournemouth (17) have conceded more goals from set-pieces (excluding penalties) than Liverpool's 14.
"This team are not equipped for Premier League football," reemphasised Carragher when discussing the topic on MNF. The numbers here are stark and have been all season, leading Liverpool to sack their set-piece coach earlier this month.
Each of Bournemouth's three goals from the weekend, in fact, exposed a specific and systematic weakness:
Goal 1: Vulnerable to simple ball over the top
Goal 2: Exposure down the weaker left side
Goal 3: Susceptible to a basic long throw
Andoni Iraola had done his homework. Amine Adli's stoppage-time winner is the third time this season that Liverpool have lost a game after the 90-minute mark. Never before has that happened in a single campaign.
Anfield anguish
Games at Anfield used to be bankers for Liverpool. The unique history, the intimidating atmosphere, the thrill of the football all played their part simultaneously. Of course much of that still exists but seems to be buried beneath a cloud of uncertainty.
Since beating Bournemouth 4-2 on the opening weekend, Liverpool haven't scored more than twice in any of their last 10 home games.
They're averaging just 1.45 goals per game at Anfield this term, their lowest in a campaign since 2011/12 (1.26), while points per game places them 10th in the home form table.
With five games at Anfield between now and the end of February, including meetings with Newcastle and Manchester City, the situation may actually worsen before it improves.
But there is still talent - and hope
For all the ignominy of the above, Liverpool still have the talent needed to finish inside the top four or five places. Slot's arrangement of that talent must be more enticing to achieve it.
And the tactical nous used to see out games must also improve - when Liverpool have conceded a second-half equaliser, they have gone on to lose four times this season. The Premier League average is 0.9.
£450m worth of talent came through the door last summer, yielding the biggest wage bill of any side in the top-flight. Ordinarily, albeit not always, that equates to success. For Slot it has equalled mediocrity.
Time to wise up, or the Dutchman risks losing more than just the next football match.
Follow coverage of Liverpool vs Newcastle this Saturday in our dedicated live blog from 6.30pm; kick-off 8pm. Full highlights available shortly after the game.
