Another international break is upon us, and once again, Liverpool head into it top of the Premier League table.
Arne Slot’s side have been near-perfect this season with the Reds losing just once in the league, though that result was a historic one against Nottingham Forest, with Liverpool since bouncing back in emphatic fashion in both the Premier League and UEFA Champions League.
After nine wins in ten games in all competitions, it’s safe to say that the appointment of Slot has been a success so far for Liverpool, with the Dutch coach showing that he is the ideal heir to Jurgen Klopp’s throne at Anfield.
Yet David James has suggested that Slot and Liverpool could be about to run into a potential problem.
International break has come at the worst time for Liverpool and Slot
Speaking on Premier League Review, the pundit noted how the international break has come at the worst time for the Reds, with James saying that Liverpool’s players are now in a good pattern of training under Slot and getting ready for games under the Dutch coach.
James said when asked about his fear surrounding Liverpool during the international break: “My fear for Liverpool is, and I didn’t want to say this publicly, but I have to now, because you’ve drawn me into it. My fear for Liverpool is post-international breaks.
“I think we saw that against Nottingham Forest. Simply because what I believe was the pre-season going into the beginning of the Premier League under Slot the team were like: ‘This is what we do. This is how we do it, training, training, training, we do it in the game, bang, bang, bang, we win games of football.’
“But, that first international break, it was ten days of not having Slot’s training, and then they came back after a couple of days to try and get back into it. And it just didn’t work against Forest.”
Liverpool need to show they’ve learned from the last international break
Liverpool’s loss to Forest straight after the September international break could have been a sign that Slot’s squad had missed training with the Anfield boss over the ten-day period.
Yet James’ comments also give Liverpool the boost they need to show that they’ve learnt the right lessons from coming back from an international break, especially with a big game coming up next in the form of Chelsea.
Indeed, Liverpool have been the best side in England this season with the Reds top of the Premier League and thriving on all fronts, and the Merseyside giants will want to ensure their act is still together when the squad return from this international break.
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