Liverpool's Fading Grip: Another Draw, Another Lost Step

Kieran Gibbs hit the nail on the head. That 2-2 draw against Tottenham at Anfield in early May? That’s Liverpool's entire season in a nutshell. Two goals up inside 20 minutes, cruising, then they just hit the brakes. Son Heung-min pulls one back in the 70th, and Richarlison — yes, *that* Richarlison — equalizes in the 93rd. It’s not just two dropped points; it's a recurring nightmare. This team, which just a few years ago felt invincible, now looks perpetually on the verge of collapsing.

Remember the 2019-20 season? They won the league by 18 points, finishing with 99. The year before, 97 points and a Champions League trophy. That was a team that knew how to kill a game. This Liverpool, though? They’ve dropped 20 points from winning positions in the league this season. Twenty. That’s more than Arsenal, Manchester City, and Manchester United combined. It’s not a blip; it’s a pattern. Look at the Manchester United game in April: 2-1 up, then Bruno Fernandes scores from 40 yards, and Kobbie Mainoo curls one in. Two points gone. Even the 3-1 win against Sheffield United required a late Alexis Mac Allister thunderbolt to settle nerves after they’d conceded an equalizer.

Here's the thing: you can blame individual errors all you want. Alisson Becker's distribution against Spurs, Harvey Elliott's loose pass leading to Son's goal. But it's deeper than that. This team lacks the relentless, suffocating press that defined them under Jürgen Klopp. They still try, sure, but the intensity isn’t there for 90 minutes. Trent Alexander-Arnold still creates magic going forward, delivering 10 assists last season, but he's also caught out too often defensively. Virgil van Dijk, once an impenetrable force, has moments where he looks a step slow. He’s still a world-class defender, but the aura of invincibility around him has faded slightly since his ACL injury in 2020.

The midfield has been a revolving door of sorts, too. Fabinho left, Jordan Henderson left. Wataru Endo has been a solid stop-gap, but he's not prime Fabinho. Dominik Szoboszlai started like a house on fire, then faded. Mac Allister has been the standout, scoring seven goals and assisting five in the league. But the collective bite, the ability to win the second ball and immediately launch an attack – it's inconsistent. They've conceded 40 goals in 36 league games this season. In 2019-20, they conceded 33 across 38. That seven-goal difference, spread across 36 games, tells you everything about their defensive solidity, or lack thereof.

Real talk: Klopp leaving isn't just about a change of manager. It's the end of an era that saw Liverpool return to the summit of English and European football. But the team he’s leaving behind is tired, mentally and physically. This squad needs a serious refresh, particularly in defense and midfield, beyond just bringing in a new striker. I'm telling you, Arne Slot is walking into a bigger rebuild than most people are acknowledging.

Next season, Liverpool finishes outside the top two for the second time in three years.