Arne Slot, lauded as a tactical genius. And rightly so. The Liverpool coach’s smart-witted approach saw him lift the Premier League title in his first year last season, head and shoulders above his rivals.
But there’s no denying Liverpool look tactically imbalanced this year, and there are wrinkles to be ironed out. The Dutchman sprung a tactical surprise against Crystal Palace, but it didn’t work out and the Reds were ragdolled throughout a bleak first half at Selhurst Park.
They rallied, and Federico Chiesa’s late goal off the bench looked to have sealed a point. Maybe all three. Liverpool pushed and pushed and they huffed and puffed, but their late-hour charm ran out as Eddie Nketiah struck at the eleventh hour to hand the champions their first league loss of the term.
There’s a lot to unpick, but let’s dilute it down to just a few talking points here. Right-back has been a hot topic on Merseyside this summer, and Conor Bradley flattered to deceive on his return to the starting line-up.
Bradley's performance vs Palace
Bradley filled big boots this summer, with Trent Alexander-Arnold up and leaving for Real Madrid. The Northern Irish right-back has dazzled in the Premier League before, but suffered with injuries for much of Slot’s debut term.
Aged 22, Bradley has started Liverpool’s past two Premier League matches, and while he did a decent job against the in-form Jack Grealish in the Merseyside derby, he endured a game to forget against Oliver Glasner’s Eagles, hooked at half-time.
Lacking any semblance of clarity or creativity on the ball, Bradley failed with three of four attempted dribbles and lost possession 12 times, also losing four of his seven contested ground duels, as recorded by Sofascore.
However, with Ibrahima Konate producing another sloppy performance, laden with errors, Bradley was always going to be up against it.
And, moreover, Mohamed Salah was anonymous once again.
Slot should have axed Salah
Salah, 33, has been Liverpool’s all-inspiring superstar for so many years, and he ran roughshod over Premier League defences all through the 2024/25 campaign en route to the title.
He has posted three goals and three assists across the opening weeks of the season, but has also lacked much of his usual swagger and gusto, and that has not been more apparent than against Palace on Saturday afternoon.
The right winger missed a big chance and created two chances, but his moments of real joy were few and far between, losing all five of his ground duels, and this is not an outlier, with the metrics across the term, when collated against last year’s data, highlighting his regression.
Matches (starts)
38 (38)
6 (6)
Goals
29
2
Assists
18
2
Touches*
49.1
43.2
Shots (on target)*
3.4 (1.6)
1.7 (0.8)
Accurate passes*
22.4 (74%)
21.0 (75%)
Key passes*
2.4
1.3
Dribbles*
1.5
0.2
Ball recoveries*
2.7
3.3
Tackles*
0.6
0.0
Duels won*
3.3
1.7
We are still early in the season, but the underlying data is telling. Salah has fallen off a proverbial cliff in regard to his application and effectiveness.
Now playing a role with a greater emphasis on hugging the touchline and maintaining space for the reformed number nine squad, the veteran is toiling.
And Chiesa’s resurgence in red continues. The Italy international has now posted two goals and two assists apiece across all competitions since the summer, and he looks a different beast indeed, with observers anticipating a return to one-time elite form.
Analyst Josh Williams remarked that the 27-year-old “should’ve started today”, and that’s an accurate assessment. Liverpool risk become stagnant and predictable, reliant on late goals, and Chiesa’s form denotes his applicability for a starting berth in the Premier League going forward.
The Liverpool Echo branded him with a 4/10 match rating and wrote that Salah ‘struggled with the basics’ and provided non-existent defensive cover for Bradley, who had a poor game but was sandwiched between two of Liverpool’s biggest problems: Salah and Konate.
Salah is a Liverpool great, and he will continue to play a talismanic role for the club across the season. However, there’s no denying he has looked off the pace for much of the campaign so far.
He has played every minute in the Premier League since the opening whistle against Bournemouth in August, and his performances haven’t warranted that mark.
Chiesa convsersely, has looked very bright indeed, and yet the £150k-per-week ace continues to serve a peripheral role.