Arne Slot’s Liverpool reign began like a dream. He inherited a title-winning machine from Jürgen Klopp, added his own tactical touch, and immediately delivered domestic success.
But the glow of that early triumph has begun to fade. Expectations have shifted dramatically and fast.
Slot’s first season set a benchmark few anticipated. A summer spending spree of almost £450 million only heightened the scrutiny, signalling both ambition and acknowledgement that this was a team in need of evolution. Liverpool’s revamped squad, however, is still a work in progress.
For all the early-season optimism, the Premier League champions now find themselves facing their first real test under Slot. Back-to-back defeats a 2-1 reverse at Crystal Palace followed by Tuesday’s 1-0 Champions League setback away to Galatasaray have exposed teething issues that were previously masked by late winners and fine margins.
Slot has been refreshingly candid in assessing where his side stand. He admitted Liverpool are still adapting to a new style of play that he felt became necessary even during their title-winning run.
“We were very happy winning the league,” Slot said. “But we didn’t shut our eyes for the second part of the season to how many times we needed a set piece [to win].”
“That is not something bad because Arsenal and Chelsea are needing a set piece almost every single game at the moment. We’ve brought in a very different midfielder than we had last season [Florian Wirtz], which we think we needed because there was a big, big difference between the amount of goals we found from open play in the first part of last season and the second part of last season.”
Liverpool surged to the Premier League title last April with four games to spare. Yet behind the numbers, their open-play threat was already diminishing. Opponents had begun to adjust, sitting deeper, closing spaces, and daring the Reds to break them down without relying on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s deliveries or Mohamed Salah’s moments of magic.
This summer’s record investment was partly designed to address that issue. Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Federico Chiesa were all recruited to add invention and cutting edge. But chemistry takes time, and Liverpool are now experiencing what Slot himself describes as a delayed transitional phase.
Their early seven-game winning streak papered over cracks. Many of those victories were narrow, sealed late, or came despite uneven displays. The margins that once tilted decisively in Liverpool’s favour have narrowed.
“In the meantime, we almost won every single game this season,” Slot pointed out. “But the margins are not the same any more as the first part of the last season, with 3-0 against Bournemouth, 6-3 at Tottenham and 5-0 at West Ham. And then you depend a bit more on luck or bad luck or on a set-piece.”
“We are trying to go to a situation where we don’t need a set-piece to win a game or we don’t need someone to fall on the ground to get a penalty, or a referee to do extra time of extra time of extra time. That is something we dislike.”
Adapting to the Premier League’s intensity remains a steep learning curve for some of Liverpool’s summer arrivals. Wirtz has shown flashes of brilliance but is still adjusting to the physicality and tempo. Isak, too, is finding his rhythm after arriving from Newcastle in a blockbuster deal.
And now injuries threaten to complicate matters further. Alisson Becker is out for several weeks with a hamstring problem, meaning Giorgi Mamardashvili will make his Premier League debut at Stamford Bridge this weekend following his £29m move from Valencia.
Slot remains hopeful on other fronts.
Hugo Ekitike, forced off in Istanbul, and Federico Chiesa, who missed that game entirely, could both return. Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak, Alexis Mac Allister and Conor Bradley are also pushing to start after being benched midweek.
Change on this scale rarely happens smoothly. Slot’s methods are clear, his communication honest, and the vision is long-term. But the process of blending heavy investment with tactical evolution takes patience something Liverpool fans are being asked to show in a way they haven’t for several years.
The frustration is real, but alarm bells are not yet ringing. Liverpool remain top of the table heading into Saturday evening’s clash with Chelsea. But the sense is that this season will be less about steamrolling opponents and more about adapting, evolving, and finding solutions on the fly.
Slot has embraced that challenge. Now comes the hard part: proving Liverpool can navigate it without losing their momentum and Premier League crown.
