From last-gasp winners to woes – Liverpool’s late goal problem

The Premier League champions have now lost their balance dramatically falling from the top of the table due to Liverpool’s high-wire act, which has been full of danger this season.

In the first few days of Arne Slot’s reigning champions’ title defense, the reigning champions used dramatic final acts to snag wins while hiding their lackluster season-caliber form.

It was a high-risk, unsustainable strategy, especially with Liverpool being at their worst, but Bournemouth, Newcastle United, Arsenal, Burnley, and Atletico Madrid all suffered last-gasp blows.

And now, in seven days, they have had their own medicine taste bitter twice.

Estevao Willian’s 95th-minute winner gave Chelsea a deserved 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge, while Eddie Nketiah’s 97th-minute goal for Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park caused Liverpool’s first Premier League defeat of the season.

In the Champions League, Galatasaray defeated Liverpool 1-0 in the distinctive atmosphere of Istanbul’simposing RAMS Park, with Slot losing three games in a row for the first time in his coaching career.

In the wake of yet another disappointment, Slot was in defiance of the evidence, displaying all of his bravery while highlighting the positive.

According to Slot, “Last week, same as this week, the fine margins haven’t been in our favor.”

“We created more chances than the team we faced, Palace and Chelsea,” according to the statement, “but our opponent only scored once in both games and twice.”

Fine margins indeed, but the remarkable fortune shift is unmistakable. In Liverpool’s 11 games so far this season, a staggering 10 goals have been scored after the 80th minute.

The wins…

The failures …

The brutal truth is that Liverpool have been a pale shadow of the team that won the League last year following Crystal Palace’s Community Shield defeat, and the blame has been turned dramatically on them since the last week as flaws have been exposed.

After a total of nearly £450 million worth of new signings, including the arrival of £116 million Florian Wirtz in a role behind the strikers, which left them more vulnerable through the centre, they have appeared unbalanced.

Liverpool has become more vulnerable on the counter with the addition of Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, two new full-backs with instinctive attacking instincts.

By removing Wirtz, Slot restored the title-winning midfield trio of Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Alex Mac Allister, giving Liverpool a more familiar look at Chelsea.

Despite Slot’s positive messages, this was another largely flat display despite the fact that Szoboszlai was moved to right-back when Conor Bradley was replaced at half-time. After Moises Caicedo’s magnificent opening goal for Chelsea, they were still on the verge of scoring the equalizer.

Estevao intervened as the season’s early biters were painfully bitten back before they could get better.

Former England international Wayne Rooney, a pundit on Saturday’s Match of the Day, said, “I thought Chelsea just wanted it a little bit more.” They played with more vigor and tenacity than they did. Chelsea definitely deserved the three points, despite not the Liverpool we’ve grown to know.

“I am aware that Liverpool are now playing back-to-back Premier League games with late goals in them, but that’s just the way it can go.” It’s obvious that they did a good job of opening the season, scoring late goals themselves, but they’ve now had a bad week, losing three times in a row. It’s challenging to escape that kind of slump.

Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin claimed that Liverpool are firmly in the sights of their rivals because of their title status.

Arne Slot won the league in his first year, according to Nevin, who has had to alter things a little.

One of the greatest players to ever grace the Liverpool shirt, Mohamed Salah, has been a hero of their struggles.

The 33-year-old has been applying blatant genius since arriving at Anfield from Roma in June 2017, but even this great appears to be having a crisis of confidence right now.

When a clever Wirtz flick at the beginning of the second half drew a perfect chance to equalize wide, Salah uncharacteristically lost possession too frequently.

Later in the half, the Egyptian’s shooting became wild and foolish, and his head bowed in dismay at his own actions.

Isak turns on Szoboszlai’s cross while looking far off-match sharpness, but he can get an assist in Gakpo’s goal as he does so.

With 16 minutes left, he was replaced by Hugo Ekitike, who had already made a vain plea for a penalty after he clashed with Reece James, and he headed a very presentable chance well off target from Salah’s cross.

Although Wirtz did some nice things, he was primarily a central figure rather than a character in the action.

After the international break, Liverpool will legitimately anticipate much more from the £241 million-worth of Wirtz and Isak attacking talent.

Liverpool now appears to be struggling from a team that threatened to carry it all before it did it earlier this year, despite not performing at their best and relying on late goals.

Slot has had his worst week since taking over Jurgen Klopp’s place.