Liverpool fell to a predictable defeat against Brighton on Saturday as they failed to build on a good midweek win over Galatasaray.
As it often has been this season, the Reds’ performance was feeble, weak and without creativity as they sleepwalked their way to a 10th loss of a miserable Premier League season.
Perhaps the worst aspect of the defeat was the manner in which Liverpool were outbattled by Brighton all over the pitch. In fact, as pointed out on TNT Sports during the second-half of the match, Saturday’s game was the 27th of 31 Premier League fixtures in which the Reds have been outrun during this season. That is simply unacceptable.
Who was the worst performer for Liverpool against Brighton?
You can always count on these two!
Brighton & Hove Albion v Liverpool - Premier League
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Shameful Liverpool continuously outworked
It is helpful to exactly nobody to keep harking back to the good old days of Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp. Nevertheless, the difference between the work Klopp’s teams put in and the effort of the current group under Arne Slot is simply night and day.
You can be outworked and still come away with a win, as Liverpool have clearly done many times this season, but to keep letting it happen is simply not good enough.
The Reds used to be the fittest team in the league by a distance. These days, the whole side looks absolutely shattered from early on in matches.
Florian Wirtz runs with the ball during Liverpool's Premier League match against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium
Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images
READ MORE: Liverpool player ratings vs Brighton as two usual suspects get 4/10 in sickening loss
MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES
This does not necessarily mean that the players are not working hard, because they are. They keep pushing and trying things right up until the final whistle, whether it comes off or not.
But they are clearly not doing enough to get the better of teams. When you are so consistently outperformed in such a key metric, you are going to be found out.
How do Liverpool put this right?
It is such a bad look for Slot and the Liverpool squad to be so convincingly beaten week after week in terms of distance covered. At this point, it looks and feels impossible for the Reds to correct it.
There was some hope in midweek when Liverpool did run further and harder than Galatasaray, and for a moment it looked like the energy could have returned.
Another defeat. What went wrong today?
Abject. Miserable. Dispiriting. Just another Liverpool game.
Virgil van Dijk spreads his arms and appeals during Liverpool's Premier League matches against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium (Credit: Getty Images/Justin Setterfield).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Just Setterfield
Clearly, it is a tough ask to go away to a good Brighton side – who have had a full week’s rest – only three days later. But that is why these Liverpool players are operating at the very top of the sport. It should not be a problem for them.
There are now two ways in which Liverpool can correct this dismal statistic. The first is to get the players fitter. They have looked miles off it all season long, and by tweaking the fitness regime, perhaps there is still a way back in that respect.
However, with so little time left in the season, it does not feel like something they can simply turn on and off in time.
The second, more realistic way, is for Slot to adjust his system in order to either make up for the lack of intensity from his team, or to increase it. With players out and a small group to rotate between, this is going to be difficult, but not impossible.
Either way, Slot is now out of options. He and his players have a lot to answer to for the way this season has unravelled, and when they look in the mirror at the end of the campaign, they absolutely cannot claim to have given it everything they’ve got. The stats display shamefully plainly that they have not.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox