Jurgen Klopp already found solution to Liverpool problem after honest Arne Slot admission
There is no reason to panic yet and it was only one game, but Liverpool's struggles in breaking down a low block defense against Nottingham Forest caused some concern. Quite quickly, Arne Slot will need to find a solution.
Dominik Szoboszlai was poor and Mohamed Salah couldn't do anything right. And while it is highly unlikely that every Liverpool player will have an off-day at the same time too often this season, there is something of a template for other clubs to follow.
Liverpool plays Bournemouth next weekend at Anfield and then faces Wolves and Crystal Palace. Each of those teams is likely to attempt something similar to what Nuno Espirito Santo achieved against the Reds — and therefore they will need a fix. A couple of early goals next Saturday would instantly stifle any suggestion of this becoming anything other than a one-off.
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When Jurgen Klopp was in the early stages of his Liverpool tenure, his team had a persistent problem with breaking deep-lying defenses down, even when Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho was at the club. Over time, though, Klopp created a model that consistently worked.
Liverpool had Roberto Firmino dropping deep to connect things and Salah and Sadio Mane offering a potent goal threat on either side. The counter-press was the best playmaker the Reds could ask for, as Klopp famously said.
Slot has always insisted that his style doesn't differ that much from how Klopp set up with the main change being more patience in the final third. But regardless, the issue against Nottingham Forest wasn't the game plan but its lackadaisical execution.
Already this season, Liverpool has seen off Ipswich Town, Brentford and Manchester United by being careful and considered. The difference here was simply that the players didn't have enough intensity and quickness in their passing; those in front of whoever was in possession were simply too static.
That is not a tactical problem but perhaps one linked with the energy levels of the players, many of whom had been away on international duty. Almost to a man, Liverpool looked sluggish.
Maybe more changes in the starting XI would have freshened things up but Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez didn't look particularly threatening when they came on in the second half. It was on those who were on the pitch to do more individually and collectively.
"I think the only thing we had influence on was ball possession because they played a lot of long balls, so if you then take the ball back you need to go past 11 players," Slot said during his press conference.
"We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three [or] four quite good chances, so that is by far not enough if you have so much ball possession. If you play so much in their half, we need to do much better. We lost the ball so many times in simple situations. That is, I think, the main story from the game: ball possession not good enough."
At AC Milan in the Champions League midweek, there should be space in behind to exploit on the counter-attack. But when the Bournemouth match kicks off next Saturday, Liverpool needs to rediscover that attacking gear even with 11 men to get past. Whether it was a tactical or a physical/mental problem, Slot and his side need to find a fix.