Late goals are ruining Liverpool’s season and the answers are not clear

On occasions this season, Virgil van Dijk has used the word ‘sloppy’ to describe Liverpool’s struggles.

After a 1-1 draw against Burnley in January, the Liverpool captain said: “After 60 minutes, we started to become sloppy and that’s not the first time. We have to address that.”

A few days later in Milan, that quote was put to left-back Milos Kerkez, who told BBC Sport that he agreed with Van Dijk’s assessment.

“After 60-70 [minutes] We always lose focus and lose some tactical discipline. “I don’t know, we’re tired, I’m not sure what it is, but I agree with that.”

One of the big reasons why Slott was brought in to succeed Jurgen Klopp is his amazing ability to keep his players fit. Of the coaches shortlisted, only Ruben Amorim had a better record.

The Dutchman has chosen a less intense training style than the players are used to.

Slott worked at Feyenoord with Robin Peters who followed him to Liverpool as the first team’s main performance coach. The duo have tailored training to specific players, changing the intensity based on Liverpool’s schedule and the demands of upcoming matches.

Sessions became longer but less intense, and on match days, Liverpool’s side played less intensely without possession than Klopp’s teams.

All of these factors, built on a squad that was fit to play under Klopp, combined to leave them remarkably injury-free last season, resulting in Liverpool being crowned Premier League champions.

They were not lucky this season.

Liverpool sought to break down teams by initially committing players to the penalty area, an approach that left them vulnerable to counter-attacks.

Teams deliberately sought to play long against Liverpool, who also offered more running and all-round dueling. Liverpool’s players suffered physically from this.

Since then, Slott has resorted to a more measured and solid defensive style which has reduced the level of all-round games, but Liverpool have struggled to score early.

The Premier League is home to the highest number of high-intensity sprints and running in Europe. Opponents can reduce how much they spend during the season by spending large portions of the game in their low action blocks.

However, Liverpool fans will likely want to see high-octane matches from their side.

With an uptick in soft tissue injuries, there is concern that the training methods and on-field tactics described here have been sub-optimal this season compared to last, with Liverpool’s players regressing in the latter parts of matches.

Between his desire to appease the fans, ensure his players stay fit, the desire to score early and the quest to remain solid in defence, the Liverpool manager has a difficult balancing act on his hands.