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Keep calm. That was the serene counsel offered by Liverpool's captain and the academy graduate midweek as Liverpool reflected on back-to-back setbacks for the second time under Arne Slot.

The coach was relaxed and optimistic during his press conference, interspersing multiple spontaneous points that the side he was backing from rare criticism are leading of the Premier League. Again. But behind the soothing statements and positive standings, there are unquestionable concerns with the club's displays that, as stated by Slot himself, go beyond than the first ten fixtures of the campaign.

We had been very happy claiming the league,” said Slot. “But we kept open our focus for the latter half of the term to the occasions when we depended on a free-kick or corner [to win].”

Last season's title winners have not having trouble to create chances from live action or to transform dominant possession into comfortable wins since August, their boss asserted. The team have actually been experiencing challenges to do each from the middle of the prior term, once other teams adapted their strategies to restrict them, and are still searching for answers.

Numerical Support

Statistics support his claims. In the first nineteen fixtures of his first campaign, the team notched 47 goals with 40 (85.1%) originating from live action. During the last 19 league games, Liverpool managed thirty-nine strikes, of which twenty-seven (sixty-nine point two percent) were from general play. The drop-off was corrected this season, over a small sample size, with ten of Liverpool's twelve league goals coming from general play (83.3%).

• Initial nineteen matches: eighty-five point one percent of goals from open play
• Final 19 games: under seventy percent of goals from open play
• This term: 83.3% of goals from open play

However the team's showings so far this term, especially the defeats at Crystal Palace and in Istanbul in the period of a few days, should not be linked solely to a dip in set-piece prowess alone. Even, their seven-game winning streak before visiting their London rivals was frequently accompanied by the reservation that Liverpool won late and/or in spite of an inconsistent showing.

Squad Problems

The German playmaker is taking time to settle to the ferocity of the English football and is a big-money acquisition that the coach is working to fit in to maximum effect. Their recent defensive signings, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, were publicly backed by their head coach before the setback in Istanbul but are still not at the standards of the their predecessors.

The forward is not match sharp after spending the summer not playing at St James' Park, and Ibrahima Konaté's performances has abandoned him. The problems goes on. Just the young forward, Van Dijk, the goalkeeper, who will sit out Saturday's trip to the Blues with a muscle problem, the playmaker and the engine-room player have performed consistently well this term.

Crucial Unavailable player

Liverpool are in dire need of the Argentine midfielder to regain full fitness and his influence over their pace, control and penetration. The Argentina international was excluded of the concluding fixtures of last season to start his recovery from a ongoing physical problem and be ready healthy for pre-season. Ideally, that was the aim. His rehabilitation was lengthier than anticipated, pre-season was repeatedly affected as a consequence, and a key component in Slot's machine has been unable to finish 90 minutes for his side after the single-goal success at Leicester on 20 April.

“You say he’s playing catchup,” the manager stated. “Where I'm from we say he is out of sync.” They will be a more formidable side when Mac Allister is directing the center of the park together with his Dutch teammate again.

Next Steps

The head coach has praised the virtues of flexibility in his revamped team, with the recent acquisitions Wirtz, Ekitiké, Isak and Frimpong equipped to operate in a different spots, but a team in transition could do with more consistency in lineup choices to hasten the transition.

I believe we do things differently but I see opponents employing a lot of tactics in a changed manner when facing us,” he stated. “My predecessor passed on a lot of advantages but a particular advantage he gave me was ending up in the top three the previous season and outside the top four the year before that.”

The Reds boast enough top-tier stars to address their patchy displays, as Curtis Jones stated recently, but the coach admits the answer is more complex than hoping for the new signing and the forward to hit their stride. the upcoming venue could be a good place to commence, however.

“It’s a combination,” Slot said. “How do we find our wingers? Do we find them regularly and in threatening areas {like we did|as we managed|similar