Arne Slot’s flawless start with Liverpool was marred by Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon. Substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi’s second-half goal exposed Liverpool’s underwhelming performance at Anfield.
Although the Reds dominated possession against Nuno Espírito Santo’s side, they failed to generate significant chances near the Nottingham Forest goal.
Mohamed Salah had a disappointing game
Despite seeing plenty of the ball, but the same cannot be said for forward Diogo Jota. His recent involvement has raised concerns, highlighted by a troubling statistic from Liverpool’s last two matches.
According to WhoScored, the Portuguese forward made only six passes in Liverpool’s first defeat and just seven passes during their victory over Manchester United two weeks ago.
The statistic highlighting Diogo Jota’s limited involvement in recent games raises concerns about Liverpool’s forward struggling to impact matches. Given Jota’s evident quality, this issue is something Arne Slot needs to address.
Liverpool fans have grown accustomed to seeing their former number nine, Roberto Firmino, deeply engaged in build-up play and helping wingers excel. Although Jota differs from Firmino in style, he will need to improve his involvement statistics to offer Liverpool a reliable option in constructing attacks.
Slot’s system might be contributing to Jota’s reduced involvement. While Slot’s approach still retains elements of Klopp’s tactics, it introduces a different structure.
Slot employs an advanced midfielder, like Szoboszlai, in front of a double pivot, as opposed to Klopp’s flat midfield that allowed the number nine to operate in a more flexible, diamond-shaped role during attacking phases.
This change could explain Jota’s surprisingly low number of passes. However, despite these concerns, Jota’s goal-scoring ability remains undeniable.
His knack for finding the net with both feet and his head makes him a key player in Liverpool’s strongest lineup, despite his limited role in build-up play.
