Virgil van Dijk has built a career and a reputation on not panicking. The most laidback centre-back of his generation can derive some of his considerable authority from a calm demeanour. It would be out of character if his reaction to back-to-back defeats were to panic. It wasn’t. “There shouldn't be panic, but improvement is needed,” counselled the Liverpool skipper. Steven Gerrard famously led Liverpool to victory in Istanbul. Van Dijk did not.
A 1-0 loss to Galatasaray followed a 2-1 setback at Crystal Palace. With Chelsea on Saturday, there is the potential for the week to get worse, for Liverpool to enter territory they have not previously charted under Arne Slot by losing three in a row.
The first two have brought a shift in the narrative. There was the sense that, by winning with flawed performances, Liverpool could look exceptional when everything clicked and everyone gelled. Now there is the impression that the law of averages has caught up with Liverpool. No one scores late winners forever and their supply has dried up. Sooner or later, a difficulty keeping clean sheets will bring its own form of punishment. A team looking for chemistry in every section is rarely all-conquering.
Arne Slot departed Istanbul aggrieved: by a penalty decision given against Liverpool, which Victor Osimhen scored, by one given for them, which was then overturned, by what he saw as the dramatics of the Galatasaray players.
It was scarcely Slot’s finest day; his analysis of the incidents may have been different had his decisions worked. Part of the rationale for omitting Mohamed Salah was that the Egyptian has played a lot of minutes; he may be trying to ensure that Salah can finish this season stronger than last. He may, though, have picked the wrong game to relegate a talisman from the starting 11. His argument for fielding Jeremie Frimpong in Salah’s stead was that few others in his squad like playing on the right wing; as Slot has spent £450m this summer, he may be afforded little luxury.
His idea in picking Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back, instead of a specialist, was that Galatasaray usually field an out-and-out winger on their right flank and an inverted one on their left. But they flipped it, Baris Yilmaz troubling the Hungarian with his driving runs, winning the penalty.
Yet if Slot had placed too much faith in Szoboszlai, it may have been understandable. The Hungarian is in a relatively small group who have produced something approximating to their best form this season; Alisson, who had not made many saves, did when excelling against Palace and Galatasaray only to then get injured.
But there are few others: Van Dijk, arguably, and Ryan Gravenberch; Federico Chiesa in cameos but, injured, he missed the trip to Istanbul; only really Hugo Ekitike of the various new signings.
Giorgi Mamardashvili may be called upon to join him when he deputises for Alisson at Stamford Bridge. But there was already a case to bring in Andy Robertson for the struggling Milos Kerkez, and it has not dissipated. On the other flank, it is hard to escape the sense Slot does not fully trust Frimpong at right-back.
In attack, Alexander Isak is not fully up to speed though that, of course, is partly his own fault for the approach he took to leave Newcastle. But his lone goal from five appearances, none spanning the full 90 minutes, came against Southampton in the Carabao Cup. Florian Wirtz had a pre-season but continues to underwhelm and, until he finds form and Liverpool get the requisite balance with him in the side, will be an issue.
Giovanni Leoni at least played well on his debut but will be his only appearance of the season, with his campaign cruelly curtailed. With Ibrahima Konate continuing along his erratic trend of varying performances, the one that got away, Marc Guehi, may loom ever larger over Liverpool’s season.
The quest for clean sheets, for balance and for a new-look team to gel continues. In Slot’s case, it is a bid to rotate more, and better, than last season, but without compromising results. That his squad is smaller than Arsenal’s, with fewer options in positions such as centre-back, defensive midfield and right wing, reflects some choices Liverpool made. It also adds to the challenge; of keeping players fresh and fit, of recalibrating a side around Isak and Wirtz, of stopping his side looking stretched, of regaining control. Jamie Carragher argued their games resemble basketball matches too much; Slot has his attacking instincts, but his initial success was underpinned by solidity.
But Slot’s Liverpool made it look easy last season in both the Premier League and the Champions League’s first stage. This year has been more dramatic. Liverpool could enjoy that ride for a while. But, much as Slot lamented that their prize for winning the league phase last year was a tie with Paris Saint-Germain, that smooth progress to the last 16 now looks still more enviable. As the last week has shown, it could be a bumpier journey now.
