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Keep composure. This proved to be the serene advice offered by Virgil van Dijk and the young midfielder midweek as the team digested successive setbacks for the second time under their head coach.

Slot was relaxed and positive in his latest address, sprinkling several spontaneous comments that the team he was backing from rare criticism are leading of the the league. Anew. Yet behind the calming words and encouraging standings, there are indisputable issues with the club's performance that, per the coach himself, extend further than the initial 10 games of the term.

“We were very happy claiming the championship,” stated the Liverpool boss. “However we didn't close our eyes for the latter half of the campaign to the frequency with which we needed a dead-ball situation [to win].”

Last season's title winners haven't having trouble to produce openings from general play or to transform superior ball control into comfortable wins in recent months, their boss insisted. The team have actually been experiencing challenges to do each starting in the middle of the previous campaign, once rivals adjusted their tactics to stifle them, and are yet to find answers.

Numerical Evidence

Figures corroborate the manager. During the initial nineteen matches of his first campaign, the side notched forty-seven goals with 40 (85.1%) coming from live action. During the last 19 league games, Liverpool scored 39 goals, of which 69.2% (69.2%) were from general play. The reduction was corrected this term, admittedly in limited games, with ten of the team's twelve Premier League goals originating from general play (83.3%).

• First 19 games: eighty-five point one percent of goals from open play
• Closing phase: sixty-nine point two percent of goals from open play
• Present campaign: eighty-three point three percent of goals from open play

However the team's displays this season, particularly the defeats at Crystal Palace and in Istanbul in the space of less than a week, should not be blamed on a drop in set-piece prowess by itself. Moreover, their run of seven victories before traveling to Crystal Palace was often accompanied by the reservation that Liverpool scored decisive goals in the closing stages and/or regardless of an patchy performance.

Line-up Challenges

The German playmaker is taking time to settle to the pace of the English football and is a £100m talent that Slot is continuing to integrate to maximum effect. The club's new full-backs, the Dutch defender and Milos Kerkez, were staunchly defended by their manager before the setback in Istanbul but are not yet at the performance of the their predecessors.

Alexander Isak is lacking fitness after spending the break in dispute at St James' Park, and the centre-back's performances has abandoned him. The list extends. Solely Hugo Ekitiké, the leader, the Brazilian shot-stopper, who will be absent for the weekend fixture to the Blues with a thigh issue, Dominik Szoboszlai and the Dutch midfielder have performed to a high standard so far this season.

Crucial Unavailable player

Liverpool desperately need the creative force to restore full fitness and his influence over their rhythm, composure and attacking threat. The South American star was omitted of the concluding fixtures of the previous campaign to begin his recovery from a persistent muscle issue and be ready fit for the build-up. Ideally, that was the intention. His return to fitness was lengthier than foreseen, pre-season was repeatedly affected as a consequence, and a crucial part in the manager's setup has failed to play 90 minutes for his team following the single-goal success at the King Power Stadium on the spring date.

“People claim he’s playing catchup,” he stated. “In Holland we say he is not in rhythm.” Liverpool will be a changed outfit as soon as he is orchestrating the engine room together with Gravenberch anew.

Looking Ahead

The head coach has extolled the advantages of adaptability in his overhauled lineup, with the recent acquisitions Wirtz, the Frenchman, the Swede and the defender capable of play in a variety of positions, but a side undergoing change could do with greater stability in team picks to speed the integration.

I believe we change our approach but I observe rivals adopting a lot of strategies differently against us,” he stated. “The previous manager left me a lot of gifts but one benefit he gave me was ending up in the top three the prior campaign and in fifth position the season before that.”

The Reds boast enough top-tier stars to correct their patchy displays, as Jones commented recently, but Slot acknowledges the answer is more complicated than hoping for the playmaker and the striker to hit their stride. Stamford Bridge might prove a ideal location to begin, though.

It's a mix,” he stated. “What must we do to get the ball to our fliers? Are we reaching them frequently and in dangerous positions {like we did|as we managed|similar