Liverpool`s season has been defined by dramatic late victories, leading some to hail their resilience as champions who can win even when not at their best. However, this narrative overlooks a recurring problem: in three of their first five games, they squandered two-goal leads against seemingly weaker attacks. Persistent defensive vulnerabilities are constantly resurfacing. While the Premier League champions are currently managing to escape the predicaments they create, these self-imposed challenges are becoming increasingly apparent.
One wonders how much more trouble Liverpool would have faced had Atletico Madrid not arrived at Anfield with a strategy they seemed unable to execute. For the initial six minutes, Diego Simeone`s team effectively invited Liverpool`s relentless pressure. Yet, as soon as this relatively modest opponent identified the exploitable spaces on the flanks, they were back in a game that last season`s Liverpool would have undoubtedly controlled with ease.
“We found a way,” Virgil van Dijk remarked after his 93rd-minute header ignited The Kop. While such late goals undoubtedly fuel belief, the ease with which Atletico re-entered the contest, despite not playing exceptionally well, will surely encourage future opponents. It suggests that if teams are bold enough to attack the champions, they might find opportunities to exploit.
It took Atletico too long — six minutes, to be precise — to realize this. Initially, they attempted to stifle Liverpool`s explosive attack in the same defensive manner that legendary defenders like Diego Godín and Miranda once used to thwart Cristiano Ronaldo. This approach, to put it mildly, failed for a clear reason: Diego Simeone`s current squad simply lacks the defensive prowess of their illustrious predecessors.
Despite setting up with rigid banks of four and five players on the edge of their box, Atletico inadvertently provided ample space for Liverpool to exploit. Ryan Gravenberch, for example, effortlessly collected the ball in the attacking third, driving past the initial defensive line. A quick pass allowed the Reds to surge forward against a disorganised defense. Options for offloads were constantly available; from the very first minute, almost every Liverpool outfield player was in or near the final third. This aggressive posture was entirely logical, given that no Atletico player seemed intent on threatening the space Liverpool left behind. Antoine Griezmann offered minimal offensive threat, while the ten players behind him merely anticipated the inevitable pressure.
The goals quickly followed. Mohamed Salah`s third-minute opener, a free-kick that deflected off Andrew Robertson, involved an element of luck. However, Atletico could hardly lament misfortune when their lax defending allowed Gravenberch`s unmarked run to lead to the foul in the first place.
For Atletico`s deep defensive block to be effective, they needed to physically match Liverpool`s intensity. They failed completely in this regard, making it far too easy for Salah to escape a double-team and deliver a pass into midfield for Gravenberch, who replicated the exact same run that had initiated the first goal just minutes earlier. On this occasion, no defender could get close enough to foul him before he returned the ball to Liverpool`s Egyptian star, who then demonstrated his strength to fend off two defenders and score.
A change was inevitable, and it occurred. Atletico shifted their approach and started attacking. Their offensive efforts didn`t need to be particularly sophisticated. The familiar spaces behind Liverpool`s full-backs, evident in numerous games this season, were readily available. Quick passes into these zones allowed players like Conor Gallagher or Giuliano Simeone ample room to surge towards the penalty area.
The hosts found it challenging to prevent these incursions. More precise deliveries from both flanks earlier in the game could have reduced the deficit well before the 45th minute, when Simeone, played onside by Ibrahima Konate, threaded a pass through to Marcos Llorente – the player who notoriously broke Anfield hearts in 2020, now once again making his presence felt.
Atletico`s more open play naturally carried risks. Liverpool, in turn, discovered even greater space, exemplified by a superb give-and-go between Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak that nearly saw Jeremie Frimpong connect effectively. In the second half, Liverpool had more opportunities to extend their lead to 3-1 than Atletico had to equalize at 2-2, with Salah hitting the post and substitute Hugo Ekitike coming close. Nevertheless, from Simeone`s perspective, his tactical adjustment was the correct one; unless a team boasts a defense of Arsenal`s calibre, the choice is often between passively awaiting defeat or gambling on turning fewer shots into more goals than Liverpool`s dominant tally.
For Slot, the defensive unit appears to be the most intractable problem – a cost associated with the luxury of integrating talents like Isak, Wirtz, and Frimpong (not to mention substitute Ekitike) into an already championship-calibre squad. This challenge is compounded by his choice of a double pivot featuring Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai, neither of whom acts as a natural defensive shield in front of Virgil van Dijk and Konate. Frimpong was often given license to push forward, and while Robertson possesses more experience in a deeper left-back role than Milos Kerkez, it`s not his most natural position either.
Given these numerous defensive compromises and ill-fitting roles, it is unsurprising that even a less potent Atletico attack managed to penetrate the box with relative ease. While Llorente`s second goal benefited from two deflections – one to set him up and another to guide the shot past Alisson – crucially, before he even struck the ball, Pablo Barrios was able to collect it in a prime shooting position with almost no defensive pressure. The concern intensifies when one considers the possibility of future opponents like Victor Osimhen, Lautaro Martinez, or even Kylian Mbappe exploiting these exact pockets of space.
Having secured five wins from five matches, Liverpool has earned valuable time to address these issues. However, improvement is imperative. Many more defensive lapses similar to those seen tonight could lead to an equal number of gruelling late struggles at Anfield, rather than comfortable last-gasp triumphs.
