Progress, but the midfield still looks light

Liverpool do look like they’re gradually fixing parts of the team. Not in a sweeping, everything-clicks kind of way, but in that slower, slightly messy way you get when a side is learning new habits. You can see the forwards starting to knit together a bit more, and the finishing feels like it’s improving. The nagging issue is we still don’t create enough for how much of the ball and territory we often have.

It’s the sort of thing you notice in the rhythm of games. We’ll have spells where the movement is sharper and the combinations feel more natural, then it goes a bit quiet and you’re relying on moments rather than sustained pressure. That’s not unusual when attacking patterns are still bedding in, but it does leave you thinking: where are the chances coming from when Plan A stalls?

The back line looks steadier, until it doesn’t

Defensively, there’s a clearer improvement down the middle and on the left side. The team shape looks more settled there, and you don’t get the same sense of panic when opponents run at us. That matters, because when the spine is secure the whole side can breathe a bit.

The disruption comes when we have to chop and change at right-back. It’s not just about that one position either. The knock-on effect can pull midfielders into different zones, and you end up with Szoboszlai having to cover inside areas he wouldn’t normally be living in. That kind of patching and shifting is fine for five minutes in-game. When it becomes a regular theme, it starts pulling the midfield out of its best shape.

A midfield that flatters and fades

The midfield is the bit that still swings wildly from one performance to the next. There were signs against Inter, and then yesterday it didn’t feel as convincing again. That inconsistency is what makes it hard to judge where we are. Are we building towards something, or just having good spells?

Some of it is tactical. Not every player suits every structure, and when you’re adapting on the job there are always moments where spacing goes, the press arrives half a second late, or the second ball drops to the opposition too often. But there’s also a physical side to it that you can’t ignore. At times we just don’t look strong enough in midfield, particularly when the game gets scrappy and you need to win duels, hold people off, and run through contact.

Technicians are great, but you still need edge

It is a bit strange watching so-called smaller clubs look sharper in strength and conditioning than us in certain phases. You can see why it happens, to be fair: we tend to buy technicians, footballers you trust in tight areas, and then we try to out-football teams. That can be brilliant when everything’s humming.

Truth is, the Premier League doesn’t always let you play it that way. Sometimes you need a bit more bite, a bit more power, and a bit more ability to impose yourselves when the game turns into a wrestling match. The progress is real. It just still feels like a work in progress, and the midfield is the bit holding the rest back.

Written by Hugo Spritz: 21 December 2025