There’s a point that gets lost every summer when people start ranking squads by who’s conceded the fewest. Defending well is obviously massive, but it doesn’t automatically hand you a title. We’ve literally lived that lesson ourselves.
Look back to 2018-19. Liverpool were rock solid at the back and still didn’t win the league. That season is the perfect reminder that you can be brilliant defensively, organised, hard to play against, and still end up watching someone else lift it. It’s not a criticism of defending either. It’s just the reality of a 38-game title race.
Defence keeps you close, attack wins it
When you’re chasing first place, there are so many fine margins that the difference often comes down to whether you can consistently turn control into goals. A “good” attack will get you top four. A properly vibrant one, the kind that scares teams before the whistle’s even gone, is what tends to separate champions from nearly-men.
That’s why the conversation around Arsenal is interesting. They’ve clearly been hard to break down, and credit where it’s due, that’s a platform. But the bigger issue, for me, is the way they set up when the game needs a bit of risk. Too often it feels like the priority is not losing rather than going and taking the match by the throat.
“Not to lose” football has a ceiling
You can see it in certain fixtures where the tempo drops, the patterns feel safe, and it becomes more about preventing transitions than creating them. Even when you’ve got technical players on the pitch, the overall mood can be flat. It’s a far cry from the old “Wenger ball” identity, and as a neutral it can be a tough watch. As a rival, you’re thinking: is this really the approach that wins a title?
And that’s the thing. In the Premier League, someone always comes along who can blow a game open in 10 minutes. If your default setting is caution, you’re basically asking to be dragged into low-scoring scrap after low-scoring scrap, hoping the margins keep falling your way. Over a season, they usually don’t.
Liverpool’s edge is intent
From a Liverpool perspective, the contrast you want is clear: replace starters with starters, keep the level high, and keep the team geared towards actually winning matches rather than managing them. Under Arne Slot, that sense of purpose with the ball matters. The best Liverpool sides haven’t just defended well; they’ve played with menace, width, runners, pace in the pass, and a feeling that the next attack could be the one.
Truth is, a title-winning defence is usually paired with a title-winning attack. You need both. But if you’re missing the second part, you can have all the clean sheets in the world and still end up short.
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