Liverpool’s problems are mounting, and it means you could get a different response as to what the biggest issue is depending on who you ask, which sums up the current predicament.
The success and stability that Liverpool exemplified last season make the early lows of this campaign all the more troubling, with supporters left to point to a number of issues.
Arne Slot has admitted that he does not have the answers, though there is no shortage of suggestions for what he should do next to arrest Liverpool’s form.
The Reds are leaking goals and are embracing chaos to the point of confusion, and there are a myriad of views as to what the biggest issue is right now.
Left behind in a more physical era
For me, Liverpool’s biggest issue is that they didn’t get ahead of the Premier League moving into a new, even more physical era.
While Mikel Arteta was stocking his backline with centre-backs and his midfield with DMs, Liverpool were adding a lightweight No. 10 in the middle and flying full-backs.
The consequence of that is that, in a league that is hyper-focused on set-pieces, directness, and long throw-ins, they are never earning the right to show their quality.
It isn’t that they’ve signed bad players, or that the foundation is totally rotten, but until the spine is strengthened in physical terms it’s hard to see Liverpool games being much more than the coin flips they currently are.
Unfortunately, major changes are hard to envision outside of a transfer window, and so plenty more difficult results surely await.
– David Lynch (@davidlynchlfc)
Arne Slot’s approach – there’s no continuity
If you’ve listened to Arne Slot, you know how intelligent he is. His ideas about how football should be played sound brilliant, and on paper it all makes sense.
The problem is that Liverpool have to play on grass every week.
That’s where I think Slot needs to change. When Liverpool lose the ball, there’s no base in midfield to recover. We’ve seen it time and time again.
There’s no natural number six who senses danger, no compactness, no foundation for the attacking players to build from. Instead, he seems to think that throwing on attacker after attacker will fix it.
He points to the xG being high and says we should be scoring more, but the bigger issue is that we don’t control football matches.
You can blame individual performances, but it’s the manager’s job to give players the platform to shine. Right now, he isn’t doing that.
There’s no continuity, just change after change, and the fact both full-backs are taken off by the hour mark most weeks says it all.
When five substitutions are being made every game, when players are being moved around and every change feels like a gamble, it tells you everything was wrong from the start.
– Peter Bolster (@peter_bolster)
Concede a set-piece, concede a goal
Liverpool have conceded six set-piece goals in nine Premier League games, often being found out at the back post time and time again.
The issues Slot is facing are extensive, but in a season that is being defined by a team’s strength on set-pieces, Liverpool are failing in quite some fashion.
Whether it be the lack of height in the side or physicality, or the set-up when defending, Liverpool do not have an answer.
Slot even noted after the loss at Brentford that defending long throws was all they worked on during training on the eve of the match, but they still could not stop them from scoring.
You create a self-fulfilling prophecy each time you concede, with it turning into a surprise when you don’t and this weakness will only be preyed on more by the opposition in the coming weeks.
The complete lack of any potential solution is troublesome.
– Joanna Durkan (@JoannaDurkan_)
Injuries and under-cooked players
This is such a tough question because there are so many issues, but I’ll go for the way injuries and form have affected the spine of the team.
Konate and Mac Allister have been miles off it overall, even if Ibou has had some better games of late, while Gravenberch has been in and out of the team.
Then you take into account Wirtz and Isak in the No. 10 and No. 9 roles, both of whom simply haven’t got going yet.
Wirtz is struggling to adapt to the pace and power of the Premier League, and Slot’s change in system, while Isak is out and has looked lacking in match fitness.
Let’s not forget Salah as well – when one of the world’s best footballers is playing this badly, it’s always going to make you worse.
– Henry Jackson (@HenryJackson87)
What other fans have had to say
The season, of course, remains in its infancy and that leaves plenty of time for it to click, but as of now, fans have rightly pointed out a team that look like strangers, the need for ruthlessness and more:
It's not the losses that are the issue but the manner in which we're losing. We're having to chase games early on so plans go out of the window asap and then the second half is just Liverpool lashing on as many attackers as possible to salvage something.
— Sam McGuire (@SamMcGuire90) October 25, 2025
A big problem for Liverpool is that teams are playing over their press. As they press intensely, the ball goes over them and the distances between the lines aren’t compact. This prevents them from winning the second balls reliably. Seeing VVD engage more too.
— Umir Irfan (@umirf1) October 25, 2025
The problem is clear. Liverpool concede too many goals from open play and set pieces. We can’t compete this season with that midfield and full backs.
PL 25/26
Goals conceded
??Arsenal … 3
??Liverpool ……… 14Goals scored
??Liverpool ..……….. 16
??Arsenal ..….………. 16— Parted Beard (@PartedBeard) October 26, 2025
The big issue with Slot is a massive reason we look so bad is because of his tactics. We are absolutely hopeless out of possession. And there hasn’t been an ounce of improvement in 6 months.
— ?? (@SadioIogist) October 25, 2025
Liverpool need a defensive reset in January but until then Slot has to do something radical. When everyone is fit, Curtis, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai must be in the team if Wirtz is going to be the No 10. The harsh truth is our full backs and RCB are not good enough in possession…
— Asim (@asim_lfc) October 26, 2025
One of a couple things that has changed for the worse is Slot’s ruthlessness around selection and underperformance
Kerkez shouldn’t be starting this many games anyway, but when he is starting them so badly the manager needs to not be afraid to hook him
— Josh Sexton (@jsexton24) October 25, 2025
If Slot has been making the players work through the long ball/set piece issue (he has) and the players still can’t solve it then the answer now has to be quite brutal.
Our midfield has to now be End? + one, until we have stability again.
End? wins aerial duels. He battles.
— Watch LFC (@Watch_LFC) October 26, 2025
The most worrying thing about Slot is that last season every single game no matter if W/D/L, he was able to objectively analyze and describe issues really well.
Hasn't done that once this season and his lack of adjustment within games shows he just can't fix it at the moment.
— Jan ?íha (@HonzaRihaftbl) October 25, 2025
Big problems for Liverpool. They look like a team of strangers: wide open on transition, substitutions feeling desperate, and no confidence in either full-back.
Mentally they look on the floor, and after nine games that’s the biggest concern, even if it’s understandable.
— Ian Turner (@IanTurner_) October 25, 2025
Let us know in the comments what you think Liverpool’s biggest issue is!
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