Before Saturday’s match against Chelsea, Liverpool needed 4 points to secure a Champions League spot. And with the Blues coming into Anfield with a 6 match losing streak, it felt like the club could essentially sew up the one task left to accomplish in what’s become a slog of a season. Unfortunately, as we all know, the team put up the kind of performance that you might expect against a steely defensive team – perhaps like the cagey classics against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal over the past few seasons.
Looking at the team’s xG, for example, might lead one to that very conclusion: .51. That’s all this club managed to create against a team that’s on their third manager and hadn’t seen a positive result since before the last international break. Which, I feel, makes the result that much more disappointing; the post-match angst that much more earned. A minor consolation as a writer on the West Coast of the United States is that this was the one early kick-off I managed to miss this season. Normally a point of pride for me to catch these kick-offs live, when given the chance to swap, I took that offer so quickly. Because I’d been fooled before.
The fans, it seems, felt similarly, as they let their discontent be known vocally. When Arne Slot spoke to the press after the match, the fan reaction made up much of the discussion. Asked if he thought it was possible to get the fans back onboard, the Dutchman gave an interesting answer:
“Yes, I do. Not this season, by the way. This season they will have their opinion and it will not change. But if we can have the summer that we are planning to have, then I’m 100 per cent convinced that we will be a different team next season than we are now. Different in terms of results, different in how things look, but it’s not always that simple because sometimes you know what you have to do, but it’s not always possible to also get exactly what you want. For us, for me, it’s really clear what we are lacking this season and we’re trying with the players we have now because one of the things we are lacking is players that are fit.”
Perhaps not the answer that fans would want, but likely the most reasonable and measured answer given we’ve only two matches remaining. Two matches to get three points. Liverpool, as always, leaving it late.
