Three Minutes Left, And We Stopped Doing Basics

I can take a bad performance. I can even take a draw if we’ve had a proper go and the other side have earned it. What I can’t get my head around is how you end up dropping points late on when you’ve already got your noses in front and there are barely minutes left to manage.

That’s the bit that really sticks in the throat here. Not the final strike itself, because sometimes a lad hits one and you just have to hold your hands up. It’s everything before it: the space, the time, the lack of urgency. You could feel it building. Nobody gets tight, nobody steps out, nobody takes responsibility. And then you’re picking the ball out the net thinking, how have we let that happen?

The basics still matter, especially late on

This isn’t about complicated patterns or some clever tactical tweak. It’s about the oldest rule in the book: if someone’s shaping to shoot, you close them down. You don’t admire it. You don’t back off and hope. You get out, make it uncomfortable, force a different decision or at least make them hit it quicker than they want.

That’s why it feels like complacency. With the lead, with the finish line in sight, you should be doing the opposite of relaxing. Push up. Squeeze the space. Get bodies around the ball. Even a half-block, a toe out, a late lunge changes the picture. Football can be brutal like that. Tiny moments decide matches, and we handed one away by not doing the ugly bit.

Slow passing is one thing, but the intensity has to be there

The other frustration is the contrast. If we’d been playing at breakneck speed all afternoon, pressing like mad, legs going, then maybe you can understand a late lapse. But when the game has already felt slow, sideways, a bit lifeless, you don’t get the excuse of being out on your feet.

Truth is, even on a day when you’re not at it, you can still compete. You can still run. You can still make contact. You can still treat the last three minutes like a cup final. That’s the minimum standard at this level, never mind at Liverpool.

Where responsibility sits: players first, but questions remain

I’m not hiding my doubts about Arne Slot. People will argue about his setup, his in-game management, the feel of the football, all of that. Fine. But that late moment is on the players. You can’t stand off and then act surprised when someone lashes one in. That’s game management 101, and it’s supposed to be led by the lads on the pitch.

And if the explanation is fatigue, then it opens another can of worms. Because if we’re too tired to press for three minutes after an afternoon of slow tempo, something’s wrong somewhere. Not just tactically, but mentally as well. The standards have to be higher than that. At least make them earn it.

Written by ScouserInFrance: 12 January 2026