Liverpool’s season has been littered with repeated mistakes and a constant failure to learn from harsh lessons.
Perhaps the most frustrating of these, aside from their habit of conceding last-minute goals, has been the Reds’ absolute commitment to missing big chances.
This was on display once again on Sunday, as Liverpool failed to kill Tottenham off and succumbed to a late equaliser. Arne Slot was clearly frustrated after the match, but how exactly can the head coach finally sort out this costly problem?
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Option one – Alexander Isak will fix it all
“I think we’ve not been clinical enough throughout the whole season,” Slot said in his post-match press conference.
“Yeah, tell me why? It’s not the quality of the players, I can tell you that. We have unbelievable attackers that are able – and throughout their whole career were able – to score a lot of goals.”
While that may be true – to varying degrees – for Liverpool’s forwards, it is especially on point about Alexander Isak, the Reds’ star striker who has barely been available all season.
Had Isak been able to make more than the 10 starts he has – and been fully fit for all of those appearances – Liverpool would surely have scored plenty.
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Isak is expected back after the international break, and although he is likely to take some time to get back up to speed, the Swede may well solve Liverpool’s lack of clinical finishing all by himself.
Inspired by their deadly teammate, perhaps the likes of Hugo Ekitike, Cody Gakpo, Florian Wirtz and Mohamed Salah will turn it on as well.
Option two – Dip into the transfer market
Liverpool would clearly prefer to solve their issues with the players they already have – and Isak can clearly help here – but there is also reasonable evidence to suggest that neither Ekitike nor Wirtz will ever be the most efficient finishers.
The Reds are likely to sign a new winger this summer, and they must now ensure that the player they target is someone who regularly scores their chances.
One way of doing this is by looking closely at expected goals, but this does not always give a clear picture of finishing ability.
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Current feelings for Slot aside, has he been better than Benitez?
Instead, Liverpool’s recruitment team should carefully study a mixture of xG, big chances missed and shot conversion percentage to sign a player who will give them an edge in front of goal.
There is no use adding another player who could not hit a barn door, Liverpool must be picky and bring in someone who can genuinely move the needle. Sadly, this won’t be until next season at the earliest.
Option three – Bring back fines
While the first two options rely on Liverpool adding something new to their team in order to get more from it, this third choice could have a more immediate effect.
Throughout the campaign, Liverpool players have appeared incredibly sluggish, complacent and even arrogant at times. They need a rocket up the backside.
In terms of missing chances, there is only so much Slot can do. The players are surely putting in plenty of time in shooting drills in training, and they simply have to do better when out on the pitch.
Perhaps one way of making them really think about what they’re doing in front of goal is to bring back some form of light punishment for missing chances. Players are showered with bonuses and heavy praise these days for doing the bare minimum, but what if Slot and his coaches take a harder line and start fining repeat offenders who miss chances over and over?
This has now gone on for too long and has cost Liverpool so much over the course of the season. If players saw real life sanctions for their wastefulness, or if Slot can even go the other way and add a competitive bonus scheme for those who do convert it could have an impact.
Until Isak comes back and the transfer market opens, something like this may be the only way.
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