Liverpool fell behind for the second match in succession on Tuesday as they struggled to get to grips with a hostile atmosphere against Galatasaray.
The Reds suffered their first defeat of the season at the weekend, but had a quick chance to put things right in Istanbul.
Although they actually started well amid the deafening whistles of Rams Park, Liverpool soon found themselves behind.
There should be plenty of questions regarding the legitimacy of the penalty awarded to Galatasaray, but regardless of whether it was a foul or not, Victor Osimhen put the Turks ahead.
From there, the positives around Liverpool’s performances soon disintegrated during a difficult first-half.
The same issues seen at Selhurst Park on Saturday – and before – continue to surface, with the Reds far too easy to play through. Watching on as a pundit, legendary former Netherlands midfielder Clarence Seedorf was less than impressed.
Liverpool slammed for out of possession struggles
Although they have put points on the board in the Premier League and Champions League, Liverpool really have not been good enough so far this season.
Game on game the Reds seem to be getting worse, with the same pattern of play carving them open every time they take to the pitch.
It is currently far too easy to get at Liverpool’s defence, with simple passes putting teams one on one with the goalkeeper.
That’s exactly what happened twice in the opening 15 minutes at Galatasaray, with the second leading to the penalty which put the home team ahead.
“Not good especially without the ball,” Seedorf told Amazon Prime Sport at half-time. “With the ball Liverpool have done their stuff, but too much space without the ball, not aggressive like we’re used to seeing from Liverpool.
“The chances [for Galatasaray] were not really counterattacks, they were build-ups from the back. Easy pass, two players around, nobody really pressing him, the defence is static. Too much stuff happening there that is not good.”
Arne Slot needs to sort Liverpool issues
There are several mitigating factors for Liverpool continually looking poor this season, but there can be no more excuses.
The Reds are arguably yet to play well for a full 90 minutes in any of their 10 matches this term. That is not good enough.
The most worrying aspect is that the same things keep occurring every single match. Arne Slot is simply not fixing things.
Obviously, the Liverpool head coach will know the issues and will be no doubt trying whatever he can to solve them. But for now things are just not clicking.
This cannot go on for much longer. The problems are clear and need solving immediately or things could soon get ugly for Liverpool.
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