There are two ways of losing 2-0.
Last week in Paris, Liverpool were left battered and bruised and it was fair to question whether Arne Slot was the man to halt the spiraling slump and dig them out of this hole. Fans worried that the gap between their team and Europe’s elite was seismic.
This week on Merseyside, there were green shoots of positivity. Belief that with a few minor tweaks, next year could see the Reds get back to the top table once more. Supporters would have left Anfield still cursing but pleased with what they saw.
Those present at a sodden spring evening here in L4 would have departed feeling proud of their team. It was in complete contrast to those returning from the French capital last week looking forward to the season being over, such was the plight of this side.
It soon will be. All of a sudden, a season that promised so much – don’t forget, these are the English champions who spent a record-breaking £450m and were heavily fancied to go back to back – has just six games remaining.
There is no hiding that this has been a tricky second album after a smash hit for Slot last season. The way that Liverpool went toe-to-toe with PSG last year and then went backwards in the 13 months since is a huge worry and questions over the head coach’s role in that are fair.
Slot, as he has so often this season, will have left the stadium on Tuesday night questioning what could have been. On another night, they would have put away one of their chances and who knows what might have happened from there.
On another night, Marquinhos would not have made an inch-perfect interception after a reflex stop from Matvei Safonov to deny Milos Kerkez. On another night, Italian referee Maurizio Mariani would have stood firm on his original decision to give Liverpool a penalty.
Striker Hugo Ekitike would not have gone down injured and needed to be stretchered off which scuppered Slot’s planned in-game changes. Ousmane Dembele might not have taken his first real sight of goal and the hopes of a comeback would not have been extinguished so early.
But these are all hypotheticals and there have been too many of those for Slot and Co this year. Realistically, it was a shambolic first 90 minutes in Paris that undid Liverpool. Despite flurries of exciting play at Anfield, the European champions were far superior for the majority of this tie.
Are they better than the team that romped to the crown last year? Probably not, to be honest, but they seem to be easing themselves into the competition much like Novak Djokovic normally coasts through the early rounds of a major on auto-pilot.
Vitinha is majestic, Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele is a phenomenal footballer and the wingers – be it the starters or substitute Bradley Barcola here – are a joy to watch. They have added steel at the other end of the pitch so why not back them to go back-to-back?
Saying all that, Liverpool could have got something. ‘Could’ is the key word there, of course, but this 90 minutes, in theory, should give them confidence that things can be better. Sadly, though, the same old issues are haunting them.
Two minutes in the first half rather summed it up. First, Kerkez had a shot well saved by Safonov and veteran defender Marquinhos somehow swooped the loose ball away from Virgil van Dijk. It was the closest Liverpool came and it left the stadium gasping at how it didn’t go in.
The next minute, Ekitike was on the ground in agony after going down unchallenged. He needed to be stretchered off and there are now fears his 2026 could be derailed, though we must await a more definite verdict following scans. It is an almighty blow for the poor lad.
Missed chances and injuries have plagued Liverpool this year. Surely those sorts of things will be more kind to them next season… surely? The fact that Ekitike, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak have played together for just 119 minutes in total highlights this issue.
Just as Isak returns to full fitness for the first time in the best part of a year, Ekitike goes down. It is typical.
Not to absolve Slot of any blame for this torrid season, mind. Despite the scoreline at Anfield flattering the visitors, 4-0 on aggregate is fair given the way both matches went. Liverpool were lucky to even have a smidgen of hope going into this return leg.
Injuries and that profligacy in front of goal are certainly mitigating factors – tactics can coach build-up play but can’t legislate for the fine margins of these continued missed chances – but it is hard to be too sympathetic to a team that spent £450million.
Same goes for a team that seemingly does not learn from its problems and continues to have the same old issues be put forward as excuses for defeats. It was the same issue in September as it is now in mid-April.
As this season peters towards a close, Liverpool are left with more questions than answers.
