There were high expectations for Liverpool coming into this season. Last year was somewhat of a magical season, seeing the Reds accumulate 84 points along with a Premier League crown, their second in team history. Many fans expected the reigning champs to continue that form into this season, especially with the additions of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike to an already formidable squad. However, as we get closer to the holiday portion of the calendar, Liverpool looks like a different squad from the one who soared so high last season. After falling down to 4th in the standings, there have been a lot of unhappy fans.
Any critique of Liverpool would be unjust without mentioning the lack of production from star Mohamed Salah. Coming off of a 29 goal campaign in the league last season, the Egyptian has only managed three goals in nine games this season. This is also a stark contrast to last season, where Salah had a blazing hot start to the season. There is still time for their star to turn things around, but Liverpool will only go as far as Salah takes them.
Salah is not the only player who deserves some blame for Liverpool's rough goal drought this season. New signings Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak have only managed one combined goal contribution in the entirety of this season so far. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that these new players came with a lot of expectations. Liverpool spent over $560 million last summer, the most of any team in world football.
There are a lot of reasons behind the decline of Liverpool so far this season. A lack of fluidity between the front four, formation changes from last season, and many other factors are a big reason why. No matter what the cause is, the only thing that matters for Liverpool is sorting it out. Four consecutive losses, including three in the league will not put confidence into the fans at Merseyside.