That Liverpool ended its 4-1 defeat against PSV with Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch making up half of its backline tells its own story. Arne Slot's men, quite simply, are far too easy to play against.
For the first time in 72 years, Liverpool has lost three games in a row by a margin of three goals. Joe Gomez, who was left on the bench again, is clearly not fit enough to be involved, and those who were there were either out of position or underperforming.
This was comfortably the worst that Virgil van Dijk has played for some time, while Ibrahima Konate continued his bizarre pattern of playing well to the point of making a calamitous mistake that then leads to a series of other errors.
Milos Kerkez was solid for a long time in the game, but then, for some reason, played his marker onside and failed to make a challenge. Curtis Jones, on the opposite side, did relatively well, but he is not a right-back, and there were times when it showed.
More worrying even than the back four, though, were the two in front. Alexis Mac Allister, in particular, is in a really bad run of form at the moment, and Ryan Gravenberch was just as poor on this occasion.
Between them, PSV's players could run forward with ease and under no challenge. When Mac Allister tried to press, he was so easily evaded that he would have been better off not bothering. At least that way, he wouldn't have been horribly out of position.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 22: Alexis Mac Allister of Liverpool reacts during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Anfield on November 22, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)
Liverpool has lost nine of the last 12 matches (Image: Getty Images)
Individually, Liverpool's players are so lacking in confidence that a mistake can come at any moment right now. Collectively, however, they are performing even worse.
For all that Konate looks shaky in several moments in every game, it does not help that the whole Liverpool team looks unbalanced.
The press from the front is ineffective, and as good as he might be and as hard as he might try, Dominik Szoboszlai cannot do it all alone.
Mohamed Salah has never been a pressing machine, but when you add that Hugo Ekitike is still learning the ropes, Alexander Isak isn't physically up to scratch yet, Cody Gakpo looks a shadow of himself, and the midfield is all but non-existent, it doesn't look good.
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For all that Liverpool doesn't really look like scoring or creating much at the moment, it first needs to find a way of setting up that is cohesive enough to stop it from shipping goals.
Time on the training field is extremely limited at the current time, and that won't change at any point soon. Something has to, though, or the regular hammerings will only continue.
When Liverpool takes to the field against West Ham United on Sunday, it needs to find a way of shoring itself up. That might be playing Gomez, even if he isn't fit. It might be fundamentally changing the system.
At this point, it almost doesn't matter what. Whatever it is, the results can't get any worse, and Arne Slot is going to have to try something.