"Virgil van Dijk had called for a back-to-basics clarity against PSV Eindhoven, doing the simple stuff, paring it all back. Cue an extraordinary overhead netballstyle Van Dijk handball five minutes in, followed by a bafflingly entitled whinge at the referee over the ensuing penalty kick. He has always been the barometer of this team's good health. Less Van Dijk is always more. Ideally, he is not playing at all, just chugging about in a vaguely supervisory role."
"Slot still seemed confused at the final whistle, albeit fluently and discursively consumed, like the captain of an irreversibly sinking ship who seems interested above all in certain key engineering oddities. But confusion still does not seem the right response to all this because Liverpool are nothing if not predictable right now. They get overpowered and outrun in every game. The second and third goals were so familiar in their frailties it feels unfair to accuse, say, Arsenal, of relying on predictable routes to goal."
Arne Slot announced he was almost confused ahead of the match. Liverpool suffered a 4-1 home defeat, their ninth loss in the past 12 games. The result reinforced a sense that the season has entered a gallows-humour phase, where events mock attempts to recover. Virgil van Dijk committed an early handball that led to a penalty, was booked, and appeared erratic during PSV's third goal. Van Dijk's struggles symbolise wider defensive frailties. Slot appeared confused at full time, while the team repeatedly got overpowered and outrun, conceding goals through familiar weaknesses.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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