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Preserve serenity. That proved to be the Zen-like guidance offered by Liverpool's captain and the young midfielder earlier this week as the Merseyside club processed successive losses for the second time under their head coach.

The coach stayed unfazed and optimistic during his press conference, interspersing numerous spontaneous comments that the squad he was backing from infrequent scrutiny are leading of the the league. Anew. However underneath the reassuring words and favorable standings, there are unquestionable problems with Liverpool's form that, per the manager personally, run deeper than the initial ten matches of the campaign.

“We were very happy claiming the title,” said the Liverpool boss. “However we didn't close our focus for the final stages of the term to the occasions when we required a free-kick or corner [to win].”

The reigning English champions haven't finding it difficult to generate opportunities from general play or to transform superior ball control into comfortable wins since August, their boss maintained. Liverpool have actually been facing difficulties to do both since the middle of the prior term, when other teams adapted their game plans to contain the Reds, and are yet to find answers.

Numerical Support

Data corroborate his claims. During the initial nineteen fixtures of his first campaign, the side scored forty-seven goals with forty (the vast majority) originating from general play. During the last nineteen fixtures, the club achieved thirty-nine goals, of which 27 (just over two-thirds) were from general play. The decline was corrected in the current campaign, though only a few matches have been played, with 83.3% of their twelve top-flight strikes scored from open play (a high percentage).

• Initial nineteen matches: the majority of goals from open play
• Closing phase: 69.2% of goals from open play
• Current season: over eighty percent of goals from open play

Yet the team's displays in the current campaign, particularly the losses at Palace and in Istanbul in the period of a few days, cannot be blamed on a dip in set-piece prowess only. Even, their run of seven victories before traveling to Crystal Palace was regularly followed by the qualification that Liverpool won late and/or regardless of an patchy display.

Team Problems

The German playmaker is still adjusting to the ferocity of the English football and is a £100m talent that Slot is still trying to accommodate to optimal performance. The club's recent defensive signings, the Dutch defender and the other full-back, were strongly supported by their boss ahead of the loss in Turkey but are not yet at the standards of the their predecessors.

Alexander Isak is not match sharp following the break not playing at St James' Park, and the centre-back's form has deserted him. The problems continues. Only the young forward, the leader, the goalkeeper, who will miss the weekend fixture to the Blues with a thigh issue, Dominik Szoboszlai and the Dutch midfielder have delivered to a high standard so far this season.

Key Missing piece

Liverpool urgently require Alexis Mac Allister to restore complete health and his influence over their rhythm, composure and forward impetus. The South American star was excluded of the concluding fixtures of last season to start his recovery from a nagging groin injury and come back in shape for the build-up. Ideally, that was the aim. His recovery process was lengthier than foreseen, pre-season was frequently interrupted as a outcome, and a key component in the team's setup has been unable to finish 90 minutes for his side following the single-goal success at the King Power Stadium on the spring date.

“It's said he’s playing catchup,” he said. “Where I'm from we say he is not in rhythm.” They will be a changed outfit once the Argentine is conducting midfield alongside his Dutch teammate anew.

Future Focus

The manager has extolled the benefits of versatility in his revamped team, with the recent acquisitions the German, the Frenchman, Isak and Frimpong capable of perform in a different spots, but a team in transition could do with increased regularity in lineup choices to hasten the integration.

I believe we alter our methods but I see opponents adopting a lot of strategies in a changed manner in matches with us,” he said. “Jürgen Klopp left me a lot of advantages but one of the gifts I inherited was ending up in the top three the year before and fifth the season before that.”

The Reds possess enough elite players to correct their patchy displays, as Jones commented lately, but Slot admits the answer is trickier than waiting for Wirtz and the forward to reach their peak. Chelsea's ground could be a perfect setting to begin, though.

There are multiple factors,” the boss said. “How do we find our wingers? Is our service adequate regularly and in promising situations {like we did|as we managed|similar