Virgil van Dijk has stirred the pot by highlighting what he calls the most pressing issue Liverpool appears to face again during their recent post-match analysis.
Currently, Liverpool's unbeaten streak stands as one of the best in the Premier League, comparable to the records set by teams like West Ham, Sunderland, and Stoke. In fact, this streak is longer than anything that clubs such as Brighton, Fulham, Southampton, and Bolton have achieved in the top tier of English football.
Only Arsenal can claim a better unbeaten run this season, and if Liverpool manages to remain undefeated in their upcoming matches against struggling Bournemouth and Newcastle at Anfield, they will surpass even Arsenal’s record.
However, it's crucial to draw a quick comparison between Liverpool's current run and that of Arsenal to illustrate the stark difference in performance: while Arsenal managed to accumulate 27 points over their 11-game unbeaten stretch, Liverpool has only garnered 18 points from their 10 matches without a loss so far.
With four wins—each less than convincing, all against teams positioned 12th or lower on the table, including two that are currently in the relegation zone—and six draws, Liverpool finds itself in a position that is only marginally better than when this period of fragile invincibility commenced. This streak began following a troubling sequence of consecutive 3-0 defeats against Manchester City and Nottingham Forest, which triggered a mini-crisis and raised questions about Arne Slot’s future as manager. At that time, Liverpool was merely two points off securing a Champions League spot, a position they still hold now.
This situation brings to mind a similar stretch experienced by Jose Mourinho during his first season at Manchester United, where the team went through an unbeaten run of 25 Premier League games, moving from 8th to 5th place, but falling further behind the leaders—from being eight points off the top to a staggering 16 points adrift. Despite this widening gap, Mourinho remained unfazed, famously stating, "It’s a good feeling to know we don’t lose many matches."
Mourinho made a point about the nature of unbeaten runs, arguing that ten matches resulting in ten draws yields only ten points, whereas a combination of five wins and five losses would produce a more favorable 15 points. He admitted that while the mindset of resilience and mental toughness is valuable, the reality of the points earned is what truly matters.
Fortunately, Slot has avoided such convoluted reasoning. Even with a title-winning medal to his name, he understands that such arguments do not hold water, particularly after Liverpool made history by becoming the first reigning Premier League champions to fail to secure a victory against any newly promoted teams at home in a single season.
The draws against teams like Burnley, Leeds, and even Fulham at Craven Cottage have severely undermined any sense of momentum that could have been built, contradicting the kind of "mentality of resilience" Mourinho believed he had fostered among his players. Liverpool’s current performance is far from resilient; instead, it exudes anxiety and nervousness, with the players acutely aware of how precarious their position is. This tension seems to intensify as matches progress.
As Virgil van Dijk pointed out, "After 60 minutes, we started to become sloppy, and it’s not the first time this has happened," expressing his disappointment rather than anger, much like a weary parent addressing repeated misbehavior. He added, "It’s been discussed before, but it seems we have to address it once more."
While this so-called "debrief" may have already occurred, the reality remains that the number of solid performances from Liverpool this season can be counted on one hand, leaving fans feeling increasingly frustrated. With the team having gone through a dozen games unbeaten across all competitions, it raises the question: Is it really their sloppiness or the management of Arne Slot that poses the biggest challenge for them right now?
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments! Do you believe Liverpool's issues lie with their performance on the pitch, or does the fault lie with their management?
