As the full-time whistle blew at Anfield, a goalless draw against Leeds United drew some boos from sections of the home support.
It was the first time Liverpool had drawn 0-0 under Arne Slot, and the first such result in 117 matches in all competitions, since December 2023 against Manchester United.
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Liverpool had not lost and Slot’s team had extended their unbeaten run to eight matches. But after a largely boring display, he showed a fan base sharing his frustrations.
Far too often this season, Liverpool have been a difficult football team to watch.
It’s no exaggeration to say that the Anfield crowd have been spoiled over the past decade, from the days of Jurgen Klopp until Slot won the title in his first year at the club.
The standards are extremely high and rightly so for a club of this magnitude, but against a Leeds side who were promoted to the Premier League last season, Liverpool looked one-dimensional and lacked the quality needed to break through the visitors and their 5-4-1 setup.
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Bar Jeremie Frimpong, who had the pace to easily get past some of the Leeds players but perhaps lacked that final delivery, had a few moments that got the fans out of their seats.
It was not the start to the new year that Liverpool, Slot or the Anfield faithful would have wanted.
A BBC Sport Player summed up the fanbase’s feelings in our live text.
“Liverpool still feel like there’s a piece missing,” Jan de Rye said.
“It’s not heavy metal football, it’s not even tinfoil football.”
Leeds boss Daniel Farke suggested after the match that part of his tactical set-up was to ask his players to close down the center of the pitch and allow Liverpool to have possession on the wings. It was a strategy that served the visitors well.
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Liverpool had their chances – 19, in fact, but only four of them were on target.
It was the Reds’ highest expected goals (xG) total (1.96) without scoring in a Premier League match at Anfield since April 2024 (2.8, v Crystal Palace).
When asked what was missing from his team’s performance, Slot replied: “A goal. That’s the simplest answer.
“We are the team with the most ball possession in the league, but that doesn’t mean much if you can’t create enough chances and create chances against a low block. We saw a team that kept trying but it was difficult for us to find an opening.”
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Liverpool’s best chance came when Hugo Ekitike missed an open goal with a header in the first half, but in fairness the ball came to them at serious pace thanks to Frimpong’s strike across goal.
Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has told Sky Sports that Slot’s side look tired by the recent fixture schedule.
“They looked tired if you asked me,” Sturridge said. “They lacked this sharpness, these movements.
“They controlled the game but in the final third they didn’t have any clarity. They will have to go back to the drawing board and see what cost them but for me it was the creativity that was very lacking.”
Liverpool have drawn their last three Premier League matches against newly promoted sides (Getty Images)
“We are who we are. We stand
Ekitike was unlucky not to win a penalty when left standing under a challenge from Jaka Bijol in the box, which was the focus of Slot’s post-match musings.
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“If he had fallen it probably would have been a penalty, but this season when we committed a lot of fouls we didn’t get a penalty,” Slot said.
“This season we’ve conceded a few soft penalties, but Brentford with Cody Gakpo, the referee said ‘play’, so our players try to stay up and then it’s difficult for the VAR to intervene.
And Slot said he would never encourage his players to go down.
“We keep doing the same things,” said the Dutch coach. “I don’t believe in one season you get what you deserve, but over a long period of time, two, three, four seasons, then I believe in that.
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“I think I’m not wrong in that we’ve only had one penalty this season, for the team that has the most possession of the ball, it’s surprising.
“But I wouldn’t tell you I encourage them to do that. We just are who we are. We stand tall.”
In a way, this is admirable of Slot, but he needs to realize sooner rather than later that his team cannot continue to play the same way.
The fact that Liverpool are fourth is a huge positive considering the first half of the season they have had, but the performances just have to improve.
