Slot's Approach Leaves Liverpool Looking Unclear
Liverpool's set-up against PSG raised fresh questions about the manager's plan, from selection and shape to game management. There is also concern that confidence and cohesion are slipping at a key stage.
Being back at Anfield and seeing it in person really brought home how muddled Liverpool look right now under Arne Slot. The tactics, the line-up and the overall approach against PSG felt like a side still searching for answers, when this stage of the season is meant to be about clarity and trust.
A shape that felt forced
In the tail end of the season, it still does not feel like Slot knows our best 11 or our preferred system. Playing Ekitike and Isak as two up top without natural width behind them is something we have played maybe once or twice, so to roll it out in what felt like the biggest game of our season was hard to get your head around.
That frustration was made worse by the sense we have already been down the road of trying something untested for a big occasion. The first leg experiment with a back five, in my view, was equally untried and equally unsuccessful.
Selections and substitutions that did not add up
The selection choices also felt strange. Dropping Salah and Rio, who were arguably our best players versus Fulham a few days earlier, just to shift from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 and accommodate Isak, did not make much sense to me. Not starting Salah felt like a big mistake, and like the manager does not fully understand his players.
Then there was the in-game management. Bringing Gomez on and then taking him off again a few minutes later, when it did not appear to be an injury, screamed of uncertainty. We know what Gomez offers and what he does not. If the idea was Szob deeper at right-back to get more attackers on, then why bring Gomez on at all?
Cohesion, belief and the crowd
The first half in particular had a lack of cohesion to it, almost like players had never played together. The tactic seemed to be going long as soon as we got it, even though nothing was sticking to Isak or Ekitike and it just kept coming back.
Anfield was always going to be loud and for spells it was, but it felt like it worked against us rather than for us. Instead of feeding a proper press and putting PSG under pressure, it looked like it made our own players snatch at things and turn the ball over. It did not feel like the crowd was being used to the team's benefit in the way it was under Klopp.
When the Macca penalty was overturned, the belief seemed to drain away. Under Klopp, it felt like that moment would have been a spark rather than a setback. We went from doubters to believers, and now it feels like we have slipped back to being doubters again.
Wirtz has to be central to the plan
Florian Wirtz is another major concern. He is clearly excellent technically, you can see it in the first touch, the little flicks and the passing, but it is not clicking in this set-up. Everyone is waiting for that big game where he announces himself to the fans, and so far it has not happened.
Right now, it is hard not to look at it and think we have not seen much more than we might have got by keeping Harvey Elliot. Considering the outlay, the manager has to find a way to get much, much more out of Wirtz.
At this point, I am just hoping for a reasonable end to the season and a top-five finish. Even if Liverpool end up in the Champions League places, I do not think it should automatically save Slot's job. Something has to change for next season.
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