Ride It Out, But Demand Improvement

Trying to pull positives from the last match feels like scraping the barrel, but they’re there if you’re honest. Liverpool did look a bit less vulnerable in open play, and Frimpong gave us something on the right that you can’t fake: proper pace, proper threat, and defenders backing off because they have to.

The first half wasn’t a horror show either. We had moments, we had territory, and it’s hard not to feel we should’ve had a penalty. That sort of decision changes the mood of a game in an instant. Instead, we’re left talking about what-ifs again.

The same second-half slide, again

The frustration is the pattern. We come out after the break and it’s like the game speeds up without us. Duels get lost, distances open up, and the press goes from coordinated to half-baked. Not fully on, not fully off. That’s when teams in this league smell blood.

And once the rhythm is gone, you’re relying on the bench to put it right. That’s where it felt like we got it wrong. If Frimpong’s pace on the right was causing problems, the obvious move was to lean into that chaos. Rio, for me, should’ve been on at left wing much earlier to stretch the pitch and keep their back line turning. Instead it felt a step late, and a step sideways.

Midfield needs a metronome

There were individual off-days too. Szoboszlai has earned plenty of credit, but this was a rare one where the basics looked harder than they should. If Wirtz really was carrying a tight hamstring, you can understand a yard missing, but the decision-making still has to be better than that.

The bigger issue is the build-up. Too often it’s safe, slow, and easily read. Not because we’re trying to “control” games at walking pace, but because we don’t have enough natural line-breaking passing from midfield. It says a lot when Virgil and Curtis are the ones you’re looking to for that punch through the lines.

Slot stays, but the standard can’t

That’s why I’m less bothered about the supposed slow play than I am about underperformance. Are the lads short on confidence? Are they unsure? Is Arne Slot failing to get a reaction? Whatever the reason, the intensity has to look like Liverpool.

Plenty will want the manager gone yesterday, and I get the emotion. But binning him mid-season rarely fixes anything, especially if there’s no clear, top-level replacement sitting there ready. Ride it out to the end of the season, demand visible improvement, and then make the big call with a clear head.

And as for the idea of Stevie G as an interim… no. Just no.

Written by Monstersouness: 9 January 2026