Terrible Liverpool weakness remains since day one under Arne Slot
Liverpool's crippling weakness remains and it's been there since day one under Arne Slot.
Liverpool feel to a 3-2 defeat at Manchester United on Sunday. It was another terrible performance from the Reds and their 18th defeat of this season.
Only three times since 1962 have Liverpool lost more than that in a season. There are three remaining fixtures, of course.
Now, there are a million reasons why Sunday was frustrating but perhaps the most irritating was how Manchester United were consistently able to get in at Liverpool across the first half. The hosts attacked the pocket between and behind the Reds' midfield pairing again and again and again - to great success.
Here's it happening very early on:
Bruno Fernandes positions himself in the exact space he wants to be in. There's not really anyone particularly near him - only Virgil van Dijk, a covering centre-back who also needs to watch the left flank.
Shop the LFC Store
🚨2025/26 LFC x adidas range🚨
Now, this one gets cut out but the danger there is clear. If Bruno gets on the ball, he's got the space to turn and attack Liverpool's defensive line.
So here it is again:
Absolutely no one near Bruno in this one. United's best player, their creative force, and United have a clear pass to him from a defensive position as Liverpool's midfielders are elsewhere.
Kobbie Mainoo does indeed find his captain, who lays a short pass off before turning and running. Of course, that means he's got a good few yards on Liverpool's midfielders:
So here we are five seconds later, with Bruno having taken advantage of his position to attack Liverpool's defence. Bryan Mbeumo will play the ball in behind for him, which is where United's second goal comes from.
It was a constant problem in that first half. Liverpool were completely oblivious to the fact that United wanted to attack that pocket of space with no midfielders tracking him with any consistency.
Here's another example on 21 minutes as United, pinned back towards their own box, are gifted their dream outlet pass to Bruno behind Liverpool's midfield:
And how about another! Just from the first half, and a demonstration of how it wasn't simply a way to counter Liverpool's pressing.
Here we've got a situation in the Reds' half, where Ibrahima Konate has covered the right-back, forcing Ryan Gravenberch to drop into the back line. Alexis Mac Allister, as Liverpool's only other sitting midfielder, is forced to move across the challenge the ball and the result is Bruno, once again, in an acre of space directly in front of the defence:
This was particularly awful against United because it involved their best player and, really, only creative force receiving the ball in his preferred position with next to no trouble. But it's been happening all season where Liverpool struggle badly to cover the space there and allow passes in behind the midfield.
That's the issue with having two midfielders, both of whom prefer attacking. Go back to Jurgen Klopp's time and Liverpool played with three and still went with defence-minded players. This is essentially the polar opposite - short on numbers and with no specialists.
This has been an issue all season long. And it would have been longer than that, too, as Liverpool have had that glaring weakness since Arne Slot took over.
The difference was that early on, teams weren't ready to attack a space that no other elite team ever leaves open. But you can see it there from the get.
Here's an example early on in Slot's first home fixture in charge of Liverpool:
Here you see Mbeumo drifting into an unbelievable amount of space granted by the ridiculous gap between Liverpool's midfielders. The difference is that Brentford weren't ready to find that gap - no team really was back in the first half of last season.
The second half? Teams found it more and more and more. Then you have this season, where teams actively search for it against Liverpool and to great success.
There are already too many images in this article but essentially, you can pick any Liverpool match from the last two seasons and you will see this happen. The team has done very little, if anything, to fix it and after over 100 matches, it remains their biggest weakness.
🔴 Shop the LFC 2025/26 adidas home range
👉🏻 Liverpool get GREEN light to sign Nico Schlotterbeck
👉🏻 Centre-back confirms he's ready to join Liverpool
👉🏻 Fabrizio Romano CONFIRMS belief £52m Liverpool target will agree move
Related News
Rangers move on from Liverpool starlet as new clubs enter transfer chase
