According to Arne Slot, in every match they’ve lost, the gap between his team and the opponents was minimal.
After a brilliant start to the season, Liverpool suddenly seems to have lost their way. The club has suffered three consecutive defeats across all competitions, yet Slot sees no cause for alarm. “In the matches we’ve lost, the difference between us and our opponents was very small,” the English club’s coach said.
In the Premier League, Liverpool went down 2-1 to Chelsea. In their previous league game, they suffered the same narrow defeat at Crystal Palace. Between these two matches, they lost 1-0 to Turkish side Galatasaray in the Champions League.
After seven straight wins across all competitions, Liverpool has now experienced a slump. This is the first time since March-April 2023 that the Anfield club has endured three successive defeats.
It’s also the first time Slot has overseen three consecutive losses since taking charge of Liverpool.
At Stamford Bridge on Saturday, Liverpool regained some rhythm in the first half. Moisés Caicedo gave Chelsea the lead in the 14th minute. In the second half, Cody Gakpo equalized, putting Liverpool back on track for a point. But the scenario changed dramatically in added time, when 18-year-old Estevão Willian scored the decisive goal for Chelsea in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Liverpool had faced a similar fate in the previous round. Against Crystal Palace, the reigning champions conceded a goal in the seventh minute of added time to lose the match.
The club has also been through a challenging summer. In July, Portuguese forward Diogo Jota tragically passed away in a car accident. Key players like Luis Díaz and Trent Alexander-Arnold left during the transfer window. Despite these changes, Liverpool had a strong start to the season.
However, back-to-back defeats in their quest to retain the league title are naturally a significant setback. Still, Slot sees no reason for fear.
“We could have won or drawn the match—it would have been fine either way. I’m not saying we deserved it, but a draw was certainly deserved. Considering everything that happened at Liverpool this summer, our start to the season was excellent,” he said.
The loss to Chelsea cost Liverpool the chance to return to the top of the table. On Saturday, Arsenal climbed to first place after beating West Ham United 2-0. After seven matches, Arsenal have 16 points, while Liverpool sit second with one point less from the same number of games.
