Liverpool’s second consecutive defeat left a lot to debate as fans pondered the cause of the Reds’ poor form and asked whether there had been signs that losses were coming.
Only once before have Liverpool lost two in a row under Arne Slot, and those came in March against considerably better opponents, Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle.
These two recent results have caused more cause for concern, as Liverpool lacked cohesion and looked a long way from the team that won last season’s Premier League title at a canter.
Here, Sam Millne (@sam_millne), Abigail Rudkin (@rudkin_abigail) and Adam Beattie (@beatts94) discuss Liverpool’s defeat and what needs to change against Chelsea.
The good…
ADAM: Contrary to a lot of what I’ve seen, I didn’t think the first half was too bad!
Hugo Ekitike looked lively again and as willing to get his hands dirty as he was in trying to provide end product.
Giorgi Mamardashvili exuded confidence when he came on and played with the sort of urgency you’d hope to see from a goalkeeper contending for trophies, despite spending much of last season at the foot of the Spanish top flight.
A draw in that environment would certainly have been no disaster and we were arguably a soft penalty away from earning ourselves a point. That said, it is difficult to posit that Galatasaray deserved fewer than three points on balance.
SAM: Like Adam, while far from perfect, the first half offered signs of hope when Liverpool did manage to break through Galatasaray’s press.
Ekitike looked bright again but that is pretty much where the positives end, especially given he went off injured.
ABI: I’m scraping the barrel here but the penalty we conceded was never a penalty for me, so I feel less frustrated about it.
Szoboszlai hardly touched him with his arm and he’s played up to it completely and thrown himself on the floor. This slightly softened the blow of the loss for me.
The bad…
ABI: Where do I even start with this?! The performance was so disjointed with a complete lack of concentration.
The midfield were struggling to make simple passes and the attack wouldn’t take a show on! Meanwhile, the defence was an absolute panicked shambles.
Ibou Konate can’t go on like this, there’s only so much Virgil can cover for. Mistake after mistake from Konate is costing us.
The worst part of it all was injuries to Ekitike and Alisson. Alisson is the best keeper in the league and we’re without him for Saturday now. I’m praying it is cramp for Ekitike and not a knock.
ADAM: I hate to join a pile-on, but Konate looks a million miles from the player we’ve seen he can be and his slump couldn’t have come at a worse time.
You sense one or two are still trying a little too hard and overcomplicating things slightly. Florian Wirtz often looks overly eager to get put a stamp on proceedings and that seems to be resulting in him finding the wrong spaces and making life more difficult for himself.
I’d also have slight reservations about Frimpong becoming our primary right-wing option while Salah is away at AFCON.
SAM: There were mitigating factors to the underwhelming second-half showing, the constant stoppages arguably the biggest.
However, Liverpool should have had the nous to rise above that, to avoid getting close and giving the referee the chance to give a free-kick.
When they did have the ball, players would take too long and not make the instinctive pass forward. That’s got to be down to the team not yet gelling in a new system, coupled with a lack of confidence.
What needs to change against Chelsea?
ABI: In terms of changes against Chelsea, I think we need to drop Konate and give Gomez a chance.
I know Joe is easily injured and we can’t expect him to start playing full 90s, but it’s got to be better than this from Ibou. It’s time for Arne to make that decision like he did for Salah last night.
If you’re not performing at the highest standard then you have to be dropped. Our squad is strong enough to deal with it. It’s just a shame Leoni picked up a season-ending injury because I think he’d have been given an opportunity by now to replace Ibou in big games.
ADAM: I’m not convinced wholesale personnel changes are necessarily warranted, but we definitely need to find a source of inspiration from somewhere.
There will understandably be calls to start Gomez and I’m not averse to that, I’d quite like to see Szoboszlai return to the midfield too if we can make that work.
It is by no means panic stations just yet, but a statement performance at Stamford Bridge before the break would go a long way to allaying the fears of those convincing themselves otherwise.
SAM: I think we need to play Gravenberch, Szoboszlai and Mac Allister or Jones in midfield.
Liverpool’s stardust just be sprinkled on top of a solid base, not form the foundations for the side. If that means dropping Wirtz, then so be it.
All in all, Slot needs to go back to basics against Chelsea. Oh, and I wouldn’t be adverse to playing Gomez over Konate.