"It's one of the worst starts ever made by defending Premier League champions. The last team to begin their title defence this badly was Leicester City in 2016-17. They finished 12th that season where Liverpool are now with Claudio Ranieri sacked midway through the campaign. The same fate befell Jose Mourinho at Chelsea in the 2015-16 season. They started with seven defeats in 12 games, a collapse so severe that Mourinho was shown the door a week before Christmas."
"But, as soon as the bunting from the trophy parade had been folded away, the club unleashed a record-breaking 450m summer spending spree. Gone were the days of speculating about whether Mario Balotelli or Ricky Lambert would lead the line. Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Giovanni Leoni and Giorgi Mamardashvili the footballing equivalent to first-round picks came through the door at Anfield and expectations rose. The question was no longer whether they would win a trophy this season but how many."
Six defeats in 12 games constitute one of the worst starts by a defending Premier League champion, matching past catastrophic defenses such as Leicester 2016-17 and Chelsea 2015-16. Liverpool sit in a position comparable to those collapses, with managerial pressure on Arne Slot. Slot won the title last season with four games to spare, becoming one of the youngest and rare first-season winners in England and delivering only the club's second title in 35 years. The club invested around £450m on new signings including Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and others, raising expectations dramatically. The heavy spending has so far coincided with a severe downturn in results.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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