Liverpool have conceded four goals in two games to start the new Premier League season. Is this a worrying sign of things to come, or just some early-season teething problems?
Two wins from two games at the start of a new season for the reigning champions. It hardly feels like the right time to start writing about this being a concerning time for Liverpool.
After Monday night’s dramatic 3-2 win at Newcastle, Arne Slot’s side are one of only three teams, along with Arsenal and Tottenham, to boast a perfect record after Matchday 2 of the 2025-26 Premier League campaign.
They are the division’s top scorers, with seven goals from two matches, and have seen off two formidable teams in Bournemouth and Eddie Howe’s Newcastle. Taking six points from those two games was no guarantee, and Slot has good reason to be delighted with how his team have begun their title defence.
But while their points record is unblemished, this has been no faultless start. In both games, Liverpool threw away two-goal leads late on when they, for different reasons, had looked entirely comfortable.
Against Bournemouth, they had controlled much of the first two-thirds of the game before Antoine Semenyo brought things level with two goals at Anfield, and against Newcastle, as well as being two goals up, they also had a man advantage before they inexplicably let their opponents back into the game.
These weren’t the defensive displays of a perfect Premier League outfit. This isn’t what you’d expect of the champions.
So, is it time to worry? And what needs to be fixed?
First things first: it’s only two games, and Liverpool won both of them. Their attack is so good that the defence probably isn’t worth worrying about. So, short answer: no.
But at the same time, Liverpool haven’t been convincing in defence. Against Bournemouth, they piled men forward at 2-0 up and were caught out with one straight ball between their defenders before David Brooks crossed for Semenyo to score.
Then, with the score at 2-1 and when their opponents had a foothold in the game, they threw eight players into the final third, only to give the ball away and allow Semenyo to run the length of the pitch unchallenged to equalise. This was the scene just seconds before the ball was turned over and Semenyo raced away to score.
Liverpool pile players forward vs Bournemouth
After the game, Slot acknowledged slight positional mistakes, saying Andy Robertson “should probably have been where Semenyo is,” but he insisted he was happy with his team’s rest defence set-up. Bournemouth had one player up the pitch, while Liverpool had two centre-backs in position, giving them a one-man advantage. Slot instead highlighted Mohamed Salah’s misplaced pass that gave the ball away, rather than any problems with where his players were.
Against Newcastle, there were no charging runs through the heart of the Liverpool team, but the hosts did create the better of the chances. Most concerningly, that was the case both before Anthony Gordon’s red card and after it.
Liverpool generated chances worth just 0.69 xG, despite playing the whole second half against 10 men, while Newcastle had 10 shots totalling 0.98 xG. They outshot Liverpool four to three when it was 10 vs 11 on the pitch. It was the first time Liverpool had shipped two goals while their opponents were down to 10 men in a Premier League game since December 2001.
Newcastle 2-3 Liverpool stats
Milos Kerkez was beaten in the air far too easily by Bruno Guimarães for Newcastle’s first goal, which came from a long throw, and they conceded the equaliser after a long punt up the pitch from a free-kick from goalkeeper Nick Pope. It just wasn’t that difficult for 10-man Newcastle to find a way back into it, and on the back of the Bournemouth game and also throwing away a lead twice in the Community Shield against Crystal Palace, which Liverpool eventually lost on penalties, it feels like a topic that shouldn’t be ignored.
Liverpool have now conceded four goals in two games this season. That’s 9.8% of their total goals against for their title-winning 2024-25 campaign in 5.3% of the games. And last season, they conceded nine goals in the four games after the title had been wrapped up, with only 32 shipped in their first 34 games. On the early (and very limited) evidence of this season, this defence isn’t the same as it was.
liverpool 4-2 bournemouth xg race
However, it’s worth noting that this really is a very different defence. Liverpool lost Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid in the summer, with newly-signed Jeremie Frimpong and then midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back in their first two games, and another new arrival in Kerkez starting ahead of Robertson at left-back. That might not mean a change to the core of the defence, but it does mean that Liverpool have started this season with two personnel changes in their back four, and so there has been plenty new to get used to.
Furthermore, in both games, Liverpool have been without one of their first-choice midfielders. Ryan Gravenberch missed the Bournemouth game through suspension, while Alexis Mac Allister was absent due to injury at St James’ Park.
Reflecting on Semenyo’s equaliser in Liverpool’s opening game, Slot recognised how the absent Gravenberch “is great in these situations” and how he would have helped prevent the goal. Mac Allister isn’t a physical presence to help at the defensive set-pieces that Liverpool conceded from at Newcastle, but he certainly would have helped his team retain possession better than they did against an opponent who were a man down.
Ultimately, all that matters is that Liverpool won. Their ailing defence was bailed out by their lethal attack, and when you have an attack that good, defensive problems are always going to be less pronounced. They may also take heart from the fact that, in seven of the last eight Premier League seasons, the top-scoring team has won the title.
By scoring against Newcastle, Liverpool equalled the longest run in their history of consecutive top-flight games in which they have found the net (36 games). They are now on the third-longest scoring run in Premier League history.
Liverpool Longest Scoring Runs in top-flight history
Whether they continue to win in this way, with goals at both ends and dramatic late winners, remains to be seen. If they do, it doesn’t feel like the most sustainable route to individual victories, or to another title.
But it also isn’t quite time to start worrying too much. With two wins from two and the best attack in the league, there is far more reason to be optimistic at Anfield, even if there is clearly work to be done at the back.
Premier League Stats Opta
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