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Liverpool have had one of their most calamitous starts in the Premier League this season. Jurgen Klopp has managed to get the Reds to outperform for a number of seasons but that has not been the case so far this season.
Liverpool were primed to be Premier League title contenders after finishing just a point behind champions Manchester City last season.
However, the rails have come off their title challenge in the opening two months. They have won only two out of their eight league games and are 10th in the table. They are also second in their Champions League group behind Napoli, who humiliated them 4-1 in Naples on Matchday 1 of the competition. Hence, not all is rosy at Anfield and the reasons behind it are clear.
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On that note, let's take a look at the five factors behind Liverpool's poor form this season.
#5 Jurgen Klopp's inability to adapt
Since arriving at Anfield in October 2015, Jurgen Klopp has turned Liverpool into a team that can contend for each & every title in domestic football. In fact, he has also won every trophy, barring the Europa League, something the Reds have not competed in since losing in the 2016 final to Sevilla.
However, during this process, Klopp has employed a certain set of tactics that have worked well for him and his players. A mix of geggenpressing and high dynamism in key areas of the pitch has been the secret to their success. However, there is a time to stick to one's ideologies and a time to adapt to the situation at hand.
Since first taking charge of the club, Klopp has opted for a back four and has never experimented beyond that. It is key to the way they play the game, but their high line has been exploited time and again this season.
Moreover, maintaining a high level of intensity is not always possible, but the German manager has not budged on that stance. Their defensive woes have seen Liverpool concede 12 goals in the league in eight games so far.
Hence, Klopp has barely tried to adapt and change his tactics to come at teams with a different game plan. This has allowed every team in Europe, including the Premier League, to neutralize their threats, quite simply because there is no plan B for Liverpool.
Only time will tell whether the 55-year-old manager can adapt before his side suffer more upsets in the coming weeks.
#4 Declining age profile of the Liverpool squad
Klopp has always had a steady core of players in the squad that he has been able to rely upon when the going has gotten tough.
However, this core group, which includes players like James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Virgil Van Dijk, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, have gotten older.
Although the latter trio are in their early 30s, they have seen a dip in their form this season, as they cannot function at the same level anymore.
Liverpool, under Klopp, are famous for playing an attractive brand of football but that requires a lot of energy and young blood.
While Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Harvey Elliot, Trent Alexander-Arnold and others are there to provide a youthful drive, they are not entirely reliable. Additionally, Thiago Alcantara, who is reliable, is injury prone and also in his 30s.
Hence, a team that rarely had any players in their 30s five years ago now has multiple of them, causing an imbalance in the age profile of the squad.
The club only has about six to seven players between the age bracket of 24-28, which is, more often than not, when a player is at his professional peak. The unfortunate part for Liverpool is that the aforementioned bunch of players are currently suffering with a lot of inconsistency and injuries.
Hence, owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) will need to take a hard look at their transfer policy soon and change things come next summer.
#3 Mohamed Salah's role change
Mohamed Salah has been instrumental in Liverpool's success since joining the club from AS Roma in 2017 and that would still be an understatement.
The Egyptian icon has won the Premier League Golden Boot three times out of the last five seasons while also scoring important goals in European competitions. He has registered 164 goals and 67 assists in 267 matches for the Reds.
However, he has had a slow start to the 2022-23 campaign, managing seven goals and three assists in 12 games across all competitions.
In fact, the only game he has come to life in was the 7-1 victory against Rangers in the UEFA Champions League on October 12. Salah recorded the quickest UCL hat-trick off the bench.
However, the game was dead by then and the Egyptian winger had a free role up-front, which was reminiscent of last season. He dribbled past opponents for fun and scored miraculous goals against some of the top teams in the world exactly a year ago.
However, things have changed this season, purely because Salah's role has changed too. The Egyptian goal-machine, who has thrived as an inside forward in the last five years, has hugged the touchline quite a bit this season. Instead, Trent Alexander-Arnold has been the one cutting inside and delivering crosses.
This has led to Salah's starting position being farther away from goal while also having to form a chemistry with Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez.
Although the latter duo are brilliant going forward, they do not necessarily complement Salah. They are tactically poles apart from Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. Hence, it is no surprise that the Egyptian is finding it hard to arrive in goal-scoring positions but is instead excelling at creating chances.
While Liverpool can use an expert creator, Salah is certainly not the man for it. He has been the club's talisman for half a decade now and does the job better than anybody else at the club.
Until Klopp figures out a way to integrate Salah into a system that favors his goal-scoring chances, Liverpool's disintegrated attacking efforts might continue.
#2 Lack of succession in midfield
FSG has had a sound transfer policy over the last decade or so. Moreover, any shortcomings have been covered by Klopp's methods of churning the best out of every player in the squad.
However, the chickens have come home to roost this season, especially in the midfield line, which Liverpool desperately needed to strengthen this summer.
Aurelien Tchouameni was earmarked as a signing this summer but the Frenchman instead opted to sign for Real Madrid.
Jude Bellingham is also reportedly been a long-term target (ESPN). However, there are no guarantees behind the Reds signing him next summer, let alone trying to sign him this summer.
Arthur Melo ended up joining on a loan deal from Juventus on deadline day. However, he has already suffered an injury that could keep him out for three months, losing his chance to impress during a tough period for the club.
Thus, the Reds now have Henderson, Thiago, Milner, Fabinho, Jones, Keita, Carvalho and Elliott as their fit midfield options. Although there is strength in numbers, the same cannot be said about the quality in them.
Carvalho, Jones and Elliot are still learning on the job, while Keita is reportedly (Liverpool Echo) unhappy with Klopp. Any combination of Fabinho, Milner, Henderson and Thiago does not provide enough energy to play the high-intensity football that Liverpool need to outrun their opponents.
Hence, a clear plan was needed this summer to add at least two quality midfielders this summer.
Since that did not materialize, the Anfield outfit are paying a heavy price for it by being outsmarted tactically and physically in the center of the pitch. Hence, unless Klopp does something to balance out the midfield, things might just go from bad to worse for Liverpool this season.
#1 The inevitable exposure of Trent Alexander-Arnold's flaws
Trent Alexander-Arnold is arguably a generational talent and his numbers from the last five years speak for themselves.
While his attacking brilliance has outshone his defensive deficiencies over the last half-a-decade, the same cannot be said about the current campaign.
The 24-year-old does have slightly lesser defensive duties than the rest of the back four. However, his utter negligence of the basics of defending has been his own doom this season.
Although he cannot be blamed for playing high up the pitch, Alexander-Arnold has had moments where he has been seen lazily walking back. This certainly does not bode well for him and his team.
Moreover, teams are now trying to isolate him 1v1 with their best wingers and this is putting the Liverpool right-back's flaws into the increased limelight.
Given that he has been nowhere near his best going forward either, Alexander-Arnold needs to pick up some good form soon. He has scored three goals and registered zero assists in 12 games in all competitions this season.
However, after suffering a minor injury recently, it might take him time until after the upcoming FIFA World Cup to shore up every phase of his game.
