I get why some Reds are finding the attacking build-up hard work at the minute. It can feel a bit functional, like we’re trying to solve every move with the safest pass available. And to be fair, when it clicks it still does the job. It’s efficient. It wins you games. It’s just not always the kind of football you replay in your head on the way home.

But the bigger point for me isn’t really the attack. It’s the base underneath it. When Liverpool are properly solid, you can carry a slightly “boring but effective” attack because you only need one or two big moments. When you’re not solid, suddenly every attack has to be perfect, every chance has to be taken, and it turns into a grind.

Build-up can be dull, but dull is fine when you’re safe

There’s nothing wrong with an approach that isn’t fireworks every week. League seasons are long. Sometimes you need control, rest with the ball, keep games calm. The issue is that it only feels calm when the defensive structure is doing its bit.

If you’re giving away cheap transitions, or you look uneasy whenever the opposition turn and run, then the “patient” stuff starts looking like hesitation. Same passes, same tempo, but the vibe changes completely because you don’t trust what happens if it breaks down.

The defensive drop-off is the real worry

Compared to the better Klopp sides, and even the later ones, it feels like the defensive certainty has dipped. Players age, roles shift, and the full-back positions across football aren’t what they were a few years ago. That matters at Liverpool because so much of our game has relied on the back line being brave and dominant.

When you’ve got a prime version of a top centre-half, it covers a lot. It gives everyone else that extra split-second. Without that “get out of jail” presence, individual mistakes look louder, and the knock-on effect is the midfield and full-backs start making decisions a touch earlier, a touch safer. That’s where the whole side can start to look more cautious than it wants to be.

Midfield protection is where it either works or doesn’t

This is the part that gets missed in the “we just need more goals” conversations. Liverpool have often been at their best when the midfield is built to protect the team as much as create for it. Not necessarily sitting deep, but being in the right places, winning second balls, killing counters early, and making sure the defence aren’t constantly dealing with runners at full speed.

If that screen isn’t there, the defenders get exposed more often, and suddenly the attack looks worse too because you’re building knowing you can’t afford to lose it.

What Arne Slot has to fix first

Arne Slot’s biggest challenge is getting that defensive platform right, because once it’s there, everything else becomes simpler. The “it’s not exciting” build-up becomes “we’re controlling the match”. The narrow wins become a feature, not a worry.

That’s why, in squad terms, I’d be looking at defensive upgrades and a proper controlling midfielder profile before worrying about adding another attacking name. Get the foundation sorted, and the rest of the side suddenly looks a lot more like itself again.

Written by Westwood666: 3 January 2026

Tags: tactics efl