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Maintain calm. That proved to be the serene advice delivered by Virgil van Dijk and the academy graduate earlier this week as the team digested consecutive setbacks for the second instance under the Dutch manager.

The manager stayed calm and upbeat during his press conference, sprinkling numerous voluntary points that the team he was defending from infrequent criticism are at the summit of the the league. Again. But beneath the soothing messages and favorable ranking, there are indisputable issues with the club's performance that, per the coach in his own words, extend further than the first ten fixtures of the term.

“We were very happy securing the league,” remarked Slot. “Yet we didn't close our focus for the latter half of the campaign to the frequency with which we needed a dead-ball situation [to win].”

The reigning English champions have not been having trouble to produce openings from live action or to convert superior ball control into comfortable wins in recent months, their manager asserted. They have actually been facing difficulties to do the two starting in the midpoint of the previous campaign, when rivals changed their game plans to restrict them, and are still searching for solutions.

Data-driven Support

Data back up his claims. Over the opening nineteen matches of his debut season, the team notched forty-seven strikes with 85.1% (85.1%) resulting from general play. Over the final nineteen fixtures, Liverpool scored thirty-nine strikes, of which 27 (69.2%) were from open play. The drop-off was improved this term, though only a few matches have been played, with 83.3% of their twelve league goals coming from open play (83.3%).

• Opening phase: eighty-five point one percent of goals from open play
• Final 19 games: sixty-nine point two percent of goals from open play
• Current season: over eighty percent of goals from open play

But Liverpool's showings this season, notably the setbacks at Selhurst Park and Galatasaray in the span of a few days, should not be attributed to a drop in corner and free-kick quality only. Even, their seven-game winning streak prior to traveling to their London rivals was frequently paired with the reservation that they won late and/or regardless of an uneven display.

Squad Challenges

Florian Wirtz is yet to adapt to the pace of the the top flight and is a £100m talent that the manager is continuing to integrate to optimal performance. Their recent defensive signings, one new full-back and the other full-back, were strongly supported by their head coach ahead of the setback in Istanbul but are not yet at the levels of the their predecessors.

The Swedish striker is not match sharp after spending the break in dispute at his former club, and Ibrahima Konaté's displays has dipped significantly. The problems extends. Just Hugo Ekitiké, Van Dijk, Alisson, who will miss the upcoming match to Stamford Bridge with a hamstring injury, Dominik Szoboszlai and the Dutch midfielder have performed at a good level in the current campaign.

Key Absence

The team desperately need Alexis Mac Allister to regain full fitness and his influence over their tempo, calmness and attacking threat. The Argentina international was left out of the final two games of last season to commence his recovery from a nagging groin injury and be ready healthy for the summer preparations. At least, that was the intention. Mac Allister's return to fitness was lengthier than anticipated, the warm-up matches was often disrupted as a outcome, and a key component in the manager's system has been unable to finish an entire game for his team following the narrow victory at Leicester on 20 April.

“You say he is behind,” the manager commented. “Back home we say he is not in rhythm.” The team will be a different proposition once he is orchestrating the center of the park alongside the other midfielder once more.

Next Steps

The head coach has praised the virtues of versatility in his revamped team, with the new signings the German, the Frenchman, Isak and Frimpong capable of play in a different spots, but a club in flux could do with increased regularity in team picks to speed the process.

“I don’t think we alter our methods but I observe rivals doing a lot of things differently in matches with us,” he said. “The previous manager left me a lot of benefits but one benefit he provided was finishing in third place the prior campaign and in fifth position the year before that.”

Liverpool boast enough elite players to fix their inconsistent performances, as the midfielder commented recently, but the coach concedes the remedy is trickier than hoping for the playmaker and the forward to hit their stride. Stamford Bridge might prove a good place to begin, however.

“It’s a combination,” he said. “In what way can we locate our wide players? Is our service adequate often enough and in promising situations {like we did|as we managed|similar