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Preserve serenity. That was the serene guidance offered by Virgil van Dijk and the academy graduate earlier this week as the team digested back-to-back defeats for the second instance under their head coach.

The manager was calm and positive in his latest address, interspersing several voluntary reminders that the team he was defending from infrequent scrutiny are leading of the the league. Once more. Yet behind the calming words and encouraging ranking, there are undeniable problems with Liverpool's form that, as stated by the coach personally, go beyond than the opening ten fixtures of the campaign.

“We were very happy claiming the league,” remarked the head coach. “But we didn't close our focus for the final stages of the campaign to the occasions when we needed a free-kick or corner [to win].”

The Premier League champions have not been finding it difficult to create chances from live action or to turn superior ball control into convincing victories in recent months, their boss maintained. The team have been facing difficulties to do the two from the middle of last season, once other teams adjusted their tactics to restrict them, and are still searching for answers.

Data-driven Support

Data corroborate the manager. In the first nineteen matches of his maiden term, the team scored 47 goals with 85.1% (85.1%) originating from general play. Over the final 19 league games, the Reds managed thirty-nine goals, of which twenty-seven (69.2%) were from general play. The drop-off was corrected this term, admittedly in limited games, with ten of Liverpool's twelve Premier League goals scored from general play (eighty-three point three percent).

• First 19 games: the majority of goals from open play
• Last nineteen matches: sixty-nine point two percent of goals from open play
• Present campaign: eighty-three point three percent of goals from open play

However Liverpool's showings this season, especially the setbacks at Selhurst Park and in Turkey in the span of four days, should not be linked solely to a decline in corner and free-kick quality by itself. In fact, their sequence of seven wins ahead of visiting Crystal Palace was often paired with the caveat that the side scored decisive goals in the closing stages and/or regardless of an inconsistent showing.

Team Problems

The German playmaker is yet to adapt to the intensity of the English football and is a £100m talent that the manager is continuing to accommodate to optimal performance. The club's recent defensive signings, one new full-back and the other full-back, were strongly supported by their manager prior to the setback in Istanbul but are still not at the levels of the the previous incumbents.

Alexander Isak is lacking fitness following the break on strike at Newcastle, and the centre-back's form has dipped significantly. The problems goes on. Only the French attacker, Van Dijk, the goalkeeper, who will miss Saturday's trip to the Blues with a hamstring injury, the Hungarian midfielder and Ryan Gravenberch have delivered consistently well in the current campaign.

Key Missing piece

The team desperately need the Argentine midfielder to restore full fitness and his impact over their pace, control and forward impetus. The midfielder was left out of the last two matches of the prior term to begin his rehabilitation from a ongoing groin injury and come back healthy for the build-up. Ideally, that was the intention. His return to fitness proved more protracted than anticipated, the warm-up matches was repeatedly affected as a outcome, and a key component in Slot's system has not completed an entire game for his team since the 1-0 win at Leicester on April 20.

“You say he’s playing catchup,” the manager stated. “In Holland we say he is out of sync.” The team will be a more formidable side as soon as the Argentine is directing midfield alongside the other midfielder anew.

Looking Ahead

Slot has highlighted the advantages of adaptability in his overhauled lineup, with the new signings Wirtz, Ekitiké, Isak and the defender equipped to play in a different spots, but a team in transition could do with more consistency in lineup choices to accelerate the transition.

It's not that we do things differently but I see teams doing a lot of things differently when facing us,” he stated. “The previous manager passed on a lot of gifts but one benefit he provided was finishing in the top three the year before and fifth the season before that.”

Liverpool have enough world-class talent to fix their inconsistent performances, as the midfielder said recently, but Slot admits the solution is more complex than relying on the playmaker and the striker to reach their peak. Chelsea's ground would be a ideal location to begin, though.

It's a mix,” he stated. “How do we find our wingers? Do we find them frequently and in promising situations {like we did|as we managed|similar