Liverpool have a second-half problem, which sees Arne Slot‘s side drop deep and invite pressure from the opposition after assuming the lead, making life needlessly harder.
Liverpool have won 14 of the 15 games in which they have scored first this season, a strong record on paper, but only four have been won with a margin of two or more goals.
In one of those encounters, the opening day against Bournemouth, a two-goal lead was surrendered and last-gasp goals would secure a chaotic 4-2 win.
The signs were there then, but they’re much more akin to the abundance you see for roadworks now; overcrowded and hard to ignore.
Slot’s men have been unconvincing throughout the season, but their approach when in the lead – as exemplified in recent weeks – has been baffling, to say the least.
Liverpool a soft touch in the second half
With the help of FotMob, we can see how much pressure Liverpool have invited after the interval or when they have gone ahead.
In the second half against Wolves, Liverpool conceded six shots, three on target – which included a goal – to statistically the worst Premier League side in history, with no win yet to their name.
Wolves had more touches in the penalty box (11 vs. 10) and created an xG of 1.01 compared to the Reds’ 0.42, which is, of course, taking into account the corner that led to their goal.
Liverpool sat off and invited the pressure in the final 15 minutes, only registering one shot in the 90+5th minute from Cody Gakpo, which was not on target.
Against 10 and later nine-man Tottenham, Liverpool managed one wayward Alexis Mac Allister shot after Hugo Ekitike made it 2-0 in the second half, compared to eight shots for Spurs, including Richarlison’s goal.
There was a clean sheet against Inter Milan and Brighton, but after Ekitike’s second goal in the 60th minute against the latter, the Seagulls notched five shots on goal compared to Liverpool’s two.
Brighton finished the second half with more touches in the opposition box (22 vs. 19) and possession (62% vs. 38%).
Moreover, in a wildly chaotic match at Leeds, which saw Slot’s men concede zero shots on target in the first half, they were pegged back two different times in the second.
Leeds, in the relegation discussion, managed seven shots to Liverpool’s eight, five on target compared to seven, and matched the Reds’ touches in the opposition box (11).
If we then look at it as a whole, in the most recent four Premier League matches, Liverpool have conceded a combined 30 second-half shots (11 on target) compared to 20 total shots in the first half (three on target).
Thankfully for Liverpool, they won three of the four to help draw attention away from their continued struggles, but the average position of their four most recent league opponents is 15th.
With sterner tests on the horizon, Liverpool cannot afford to lack the courage to take the game on.
Liverpool players know it is an issue
While Slot seeks to see the positive side of finding a way to win, it has not escaped the players’ attention that they are dropping off late in games.
Florian Wirtz, after the win over Wolves, said: “Everyone was working really hard, but then in the second half in the last 20 to 25 minutes we made it harder for ourselves and difficult.
“To be honest I cannot explain why. We have to talk about this in training because we have to change that.”
Virgil van Dijk was drawn to make a similar conclusion, saying: “Obviously they (Wolves) would come out with a lot more pressure [in the second half] and we have to try and do the same things, which [is what] we said at half-time.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t do that, but obviously that’s also part of how Wolves did that.”
The question then is what is Slot instructing his players to do at the break, or are the team lacking fitness to see out the full 90 minutes against what should be inferior opponents?
What is the answer?
This is where you look to the head coach, especially as the issues persist despite playing only twice in 14 days – the lack of training time cannot be an excuse.
Slot is not getting the best out of the players he has available to him, they are inhibited and lacking the courage to attack the match and open the pitch to their advantage.
There is also an absence of focus and composure, which led to the belief that Slot had lost the players as little as a month ago – scrappy wins can only act as cover for so long.
And while Slot is using his bench, only six times – with the exception of replacing an early injury – has he turned to a player for 20 or more minutes in the last four league games.
Accumulative fatigue could be an answer, but so could the instructions Slot is giving.
Liverpool have now created a narrative for themselves that the opposition will have a chance for points if they stay in striking distance, and the tough fixtures to come will test just that.
Let’s not forget, in all competitions this season Liverpool have assumed a 2-0 lead on 10 different occasions: four times it has gone to 2-2, three times it stayed 2-1, and three times it remained 2-0.
Only once have Liverpool re-established a two-goal buffer, against Bournemouth to start the season.
Slot needs to find a solution, and swiftly.
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