Bad luck struck Arne Slot’s side when Andre’s shot deflected off Joe Gomez and over Alisson Becker. But this was no mere coincidence, considering it was a record fifth goal Liverpool have conceded in stoppage time this season.
Crystal Palace and Chelsea beat them in this manner earlier in the season, and by the same scoreline. Bournemouth won the title in the 95th minute in January. Manchester City’s penalty kick took place last month. Now bottom club Wolves have joined the list.
“It could be a coincidence that something like this happens in overtime,” Arne Slot said. No team has ever lost a Premier League game this late. That doesn’t even include stoppage-time equalizers from Fulham and Leeds.
Liverpool’s problem isn’t that their defense is exceptionally bad when the clock goes past 90, it’s that they find themselves in these situations more often than they should. It was the same when we won the championship at the beginning of the season.
Each of Liverpool’s first four games this season were won after 83 minutes. At the time, it was called the Champion’s Mark. Now it can be seen as part of the same trend. Liverpool’s game has been in the balance for too long to get out.
The opponent plays in a low defensive block and waits. When Mohamed Salah’s added-time penalty beat Burnley in September, Slott said: “If we had scored the game might have been open, but they did the same thing because we didn’t score.”
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WATCH FREE: Highlights of Premier League clash between Wolves and Liverpool
That was the plan for Wolves coach Rob Edwards. “We wanted to be in the game,” he later explained. “We felt we could improve.” It’s not just because of what his team will do. “The more pressure you put on your opponent, the more space starts to open up.”
Slott insisted Liverpool were sufficiently solid defensively. “We gave very few chances. Today we gave up one chance and gave up two goals.” It’s true that Alisson only made one save in the game, but Slott’s comments don’t tell the whole story.
Liverpool’s performance was so poor in the first half that it was chaotic after falling behind. All form disappeared as we desperately chased the game. The winner was cruel to Gomez, but Wolves had a chance to punish them before then.
Wolves running through the Liverpool defense in a 5-3 situation in the second half of the game.
In the 88th minute, Andre was running through the Liverpool backline in a 5-on-3 situation. After 91 minutes, Joao Gomes ran in and chose the wrong option. Andre was moving forward, supported by another attack, just before scoring.
Considering Liverpool’s ambitions, it is natural for them to push for a belated victory. But how can you avoid being in a position where you need and are exposed to these risks? Not wasting the entire first half like they did at Molineux would be a start.
“We have a hard time scoring in open play,” Slot said. “We had a lot of set pieces today too. The first half was very poor. It’s a bit similar to the way we played. I don’t think we played a very good first half.” It was also a common feature of Liverpool’s performances.
They are eighth in the Premier League for expected first-half goals this season, their lowest ranking for that metric since before Jurgen Klopp took charge more than a decade ago. The provisional halftime ranking is 9th.
Their rivals also face low blocks in most weeks and handle them more convincingly. For example, Manchester City have 64 points against 39 in the first half. Liverpool’s average goal time is later than anyone else’s. Something seemed wrong from the start.
‘Slow, predictable and sloppy’
Virgil van Dijk has a great idea. “It’s down to ourselves. We were slow, predictable, sloppy in possession and poor decision-making. Of course we didn’t allow chances, but if we had done that it could have been this result.”
When this comment was added to the slot sky sports In the post-match press conference, the Liverpool manager revealed that he had said the same thing to his players at halftime. “I told them it was possible to play a little faster from side to side,” he explained.
“If we play a little faster than we did in the first half, at least our wingers will have some time to get to the full-backs. I think we did that better in the second half than in the first half, so we got closer and closer than we did in the first half.”
Key differences from last season
Of course, this hasn’t always been an issue for reigning champions Liverpool. Last season was completely different. They won a lot of games early on. In fact, they have been ahead by more than two goals by the 85th minute in 14 of their 38 Premier League games.
We’ve only achieved it four times this season. Last season, we did it four times by mid-September. They happened three times within an hour in those two games. The weekend game against West Ham was the first time that happened all season.
“We have a lot more ball possession than other teams. We create more open play and more chances in general than other teams,” Slott argued. But he knows the truth: “We have to do better, we have to play better if we are not to rely on deflected shots.”
Because bad things can happen. When Liverpool leave too late to win, they will always be vulnerable to defeat. The loss to Wolves was a product of their poor performance. This weakened their title defense. We can opt out of Champions League football just yet.
