Currently just five points behind Man Utd, who are in the fourth and final UCL qualification position as we approach the business end of the campaign, it's clear that Arne Slot and his squad have plenty of time to right some of the wrongs from earlier in the season.
Stark contrast for Slot
A campaign which has been in stark contrast to Slot's debut season at Anfield in 2024/25, when Liverpool waltzed to the Premier League title by 10 points from Arsenal.
As if to ram home just how dominant the Reds were, they failed to win four of their final five league games in 24/25, losing two, which was as many as they'd lost in the previous 36.
The title had long since been won, of course, and it afforded the first-team the opportunity of taking their foot off the accelerator and drinking in every last drop of the sensational atmosphere that fans generated home and away.
With 86 goals scored and 41 conceded, they were more than deserving winners, and yet just nine months later, Slot's tenure in the Anfield dugout appears to be hanging by a thread.
Millions spent on new players
Whilst it's believed that no decision on whether the Dutchman continues after this season will be made until the end of the campaign, failure to finish in the Champions League spots could almost help usher him out the door.
Having spent over £100m each on Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, and not to mention other high-profile captures such as Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, and Milos Kerkez, the supporters and the club's board have every right to demand better.
40 goals scored in the 2025/26 Premier League to date, and 35 conceded, are both the second-worst showings out of the top six teams which, if nothing else, indicates serious flaws in all areas of the team.
So where has it all gone wrong?
Lack of defensive focus
The first place to start might be with a look at the lack of defensive focus, particularly earlier in the season.
Up until September 23, there was no hint of what was to come. Wins over Arsenal, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Burnley and Everton in the league, were supplemented by a Champions League win over Atletico Madrid and an EFL Cup victory against Southampton.
Then the wheels fell off somewhat.
Defeats against Galatasaray, Chelsea, Man Utd, Brentford, Crystal Palace (one in the league, one in the EFL Cup), Man City, Nottingham Forest and PSV soon followed.
Captain, Virgil van Dijk, so often the rock upon which the back four had been built, hadn't been standing quite as tall as usual in some games.
Exposed for pace on several occasions, there had also been instances where a lack of positional awareness or bite in a challenge had been noted.
Van Dijk consistently caught out for pace and position
Last season, the Dutchman won 20 of the 38 tackles he attempted for a 52.6% success rate. He also made 226 clearances across all competitions, 133 headed clearances and 67 interceptions. It's important to note, too, that just one error from van Dijk in 24/25 led to a goal. Just one.
In terms of his one-on-one duels, 207 of the 305 attempted on the ground were successful, as were 142 of the 201 attempted aerially.
In 2025/26, he's made just 18 tackles to date, winning 10 of them. 238 clearances are an improvement (though indicate more pressure on the defence), as is 169 headed clearances, whilst 25 interceptions are way down at this point on his previous output.
Two errors leading to goals is already one more than last season, whilst he's maintaining a reasonable success in terms of winning duels (192 from 263 on the ground, and 157 of 204 in the air).
On the face of it, some of the figures don't actually look that bad, but that commanding presence van Dijk once had has definitely gone missing in certain games.
Can Salah still call himself the 'King'?
Mo Salah is another senior member of staff who, apart from the huge media fall-out earlier in the season, hasn't been at his brilliant best in 25/26.
34 goals and 23 assists in 52 games was a sensational return from the Egyptian King in Slot's debut campaign.
Had he not hit the woodwork on another 10 occasions, his numbers would've been even more impressive.
11 penalties scored from 12, and 77 shots on target from 137 attempted, as well as a pass accuracy that never dropped below 73.%, was also a remarkable showing for a forward.
To date this season, six goals and six assists aren't close to hitting the mark of the previous campaign, and a single shot off the woodwork would barely move his goalscoring stats in a more positive direction.
Just 64 shots attempted at goal and only 20 on target is ample evidence of how out of form Salah has become.
He's only taken and scored one penalty, whilst his passing accuracy has gone as low as 65% in 25/26.
Liverpool's issues far deeper than van Dijk and Salah
Of course, Liverpool's issues go far deeper than the form of just two of their superstar players - though they're supposed to set the example - and what it does tend to reveal is that, perhaps, there was a bit of 'beginner's luck' for Slot in his opening Premier League campaign.
Riding on the crest of a wave from the feel-good factor that Jurgen Klopp created, the Dutchman was embraced, and Slot himself even created his own aura in a very short space of time at the club.
With that now long since gone, and with limitations still being exposed in games - a recent draw vs Burnley and late losses vs Bournemouth and Man City are prime examples - a serious root and branch exercise into exactly what Liverpool should expect from a Slot management team going forward is a necessity.
Tactically, formationally and staffing-wise, no stone should be left unturned if the Reds want to return to a summit they only conquered nine months ago.
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