Liverpool's DRAMATIC decline asks difficult Arne Slot question

Liverpool have declined massively - and one stat proves it. Arne Slot faces some difficult questions.

Life has been very, very good for Liverpool under Arne Slot. The Dutchman took over an impressive squad left by Jurgen Klopp but he's unquestionably moved it up a level.

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And that wasn't easy to do, for several reasons.

For one, Klopp did actually have this squad performing well. Liverpool won the Carabao Cup last season and at one point looked on for four trophies. Only injuries really robbed them of more silverware.

In fact, one of the reasons Klopp decided to stand down when he did was because of the quality in the squad. Liverpool were further along than he'd predicted and he saw that as an opportunity to move on.

But no one saw Slot picking up Klopp's squad and turning it into a force from the get-go. Even more impressively is that he did it with only one addition - Federico Chiesa. And the Italian hasn't exactly featured much.

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Liverpool top the Premier League and 'won' the UEFA Champions League league phase. They're in the Carabao Cup final, too.

It's been simply incredible and yet, there is a worry. And it's one that asks a very difficult question of Slot.

Liverpool are in decline

Liverpool are now 26 fixtures into the Premier League season. They're top, of course, and that should be the main takeaway - the Reds have been the best team in the country up to now.

But they are in a decline. The first 13 fixtures saw Liverpool average 2.62 points per game. That would see them record the second-ever 100-point season if carried over an entire campaign.

Only, they didn't keep that up. Instead, Liverpool's last 13 fixtures have seen them average 2.08 points per game. That would be a 79-point season.

Now, 79 points is still 'good'. It's enough to have finished 3rd in every season but two since Klopp's first full campaign in 2016/17.

The only anomalies there are 2021 when it would have got you 2nd, and last season, when it would have finished 4th, three points behind Klopp's Liverpool.

100 points, though, wins you the league. There's been a real drop-off here - so why?

The last of the first 13 games was the 2-0 win over Manchester City, Liverpool's opponents this Sunday. What's changed since then is that the Reds have drawn a lot more games.

3-3 at Newcastle United, 2-2 at home to Fulham, 2-2 at home to Manchester United, 1-1 at Nottingham Forest, 2-2 at Everton and 2-2 at Aston Villa.

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So, you can probably spot the problem - Liverpool concede far too many goals. The team conceded twice in just two Premier League fixtures across the opening 13.

The first was away at Arsenal in a 2-2 draw. The second was at Southampton but Liverpool won 3-2.

Six of their last 13 have seen them concede at least twice. The only one of those they won was the 6-3 away at Tottenham Hotspur.

There's clearly a problem here and the answer may well be 'fatigue'. If so Liverpool could benefit from a break soon - they have a week off after the Newcastle United game next Wednesday.

And maybe that's the fix but all eyes will be on Slot if it isn't. The Dutchman hasn't been tested like this before, needing to arrest a dip and get things back on track mid-season.

We're seeing right now at Man City that it can be difficult. Pep Guardiola hasn't had to do that before either - and he's floundering. City's attempts to fix the problem was a £200m transfer window and it didn't work.

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Slot will need to get the team back on track before without money and without much time. Arsenal are hot on Liverpool's heels in the league and Paris Saint-Germain now wait in the Champions League.

He's never faced such a problem under pressure quite like this. Now we'll really see how far along he's brought this squad.

Because if Liverpool do end up with major silverware at the end of the campaign, he'll have shown himself to be an absolute genius.

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