Liverpool are in one of those moments where everything feels heavy, confusing, and loud. The defending champions, a team that lifted the Premier League title with fire and joy just a few months ago, now find themselves surrounded by questions. People are talking everywhere — in pubs, on the radio, on social media, and even in the stands. Everyone has something to say about what has gone wrong, and why this team that looked so powerful last season suddenly looks unsure of itself. The voices are loud, and one of them belongs to a man who knows the game deeply, a former Chelsea and Everton player who has never been afraid to speak his mind. Pat Nevin, a respected football voice, looked at Liverpool and said something that many fans didn’t expect to hear. He said that Liverpool’s best player this season, Dominik Szoboszlai, might also be one of their biggest problems.
It sounded strange at first, almost unfair, because Szoboszlai has been the one shining light in a difficult season. But Nevin’s words came with weight, with the calm truth of someone who has seen teams rise and fall. He wasn’t trying to insult Szoboszlai. He was trying to explain something deeper about what is happening at Liverpool right now. A team that looks like it’s running with one shoe missing, where players are out of position, struggling to find rhythm, and where the brilliance of one player might be hiding the cracks of many others.
Liverpool’s season has not been easy. When you look at the list of teams they have played so far, it reads like a nightmare run. Five of their seven opponents sit in the top half of the table. The others, like Newcastle United, are far stronger than their league position suggests. The Reds have faced no easy days. And yet, despite all this, they are still only one point behind the leaders, Arsenal. On paper, that sounds fine. But football isn’t played on paper, and those who watch Liverpool every week can feel something uneasy under the surface. Arne Slot, the new man in charge, has already felt the pressure that comes with managing a club where winning isn’t just expected — it’s demanded.
For the first time under Slot, Liverpool lost three games in a row before the international break. It wasn’t just the results, it was the feeling. The swagger was gone. The confidence that made them champions had turned into something more cautious, almost fearful. The passes were slower, the pressing less fierce, and even the great Mohamed Salah looked like he was carrying a weight he couldn’t explain. The defeat at Chelsea hurt the most, not because of the scoreline, but because of how ordinary Liverpool looked. They were second to every ball, slow to react, and strangely quiet in the moments that used to define them. When the game ended, the questions started pouring in. What is happening? Who is to blame? Why do they look so tired?
Pat Nevin watched all this and saw patterns that reminded him of football truths that never change. He said what many experts have been whispering — Liverpool have a lot going on behind the scenes. From players being forced to adapt to strange positions to the emotional wounds of a difficult summer, the balance has been lost. Nevin pointed straight to the case of Dominik Szoboszlai. “He’s been their best player,” Nevin admitted, “but he’s not a full-back. I could write a book about the number of mistakes he’s made playing there.” It was harsh but honest. Szoboszlai, a natural midfielder known for his power, speed, and creativity, has been asked to fill roles that don’t suit him. Right-back, right-midfield, sometimes even deep defensive areas — he’s been everywhere except where he belongs. And still, somehow, he’s been one of Liverpool’s best. That says a lot about him, but it also says something worrying about the rest of the team.
Nevin didn’t stop there. He spoke about Salah too, about how his brilliance can sometimes become a curse. “As brilliant as Mohamed Salah is,” he said, “he’s not helping his full-back, and that’s a real problem for Arne Slot.” In modern football, wingers are expected to defend, to track back, to protect the man behind them. Salah has never truly been that type of player. His job has always been to attack, to score, to decide games. But now, in a system where everything depends on balance, his lack of defensive work leaves a hole that teams are exploiting. It’s not about effort — it’s about structure. Slot’s Liverpool are trying to play a certain way, but the parts don’t fit yet. Szoboszlai at right-back, Salah not defending, midfielders losing shape, defenders stretched thin. The whole machine is shaking, even if the scoreboard doesn’t show the full story yet.
For fans, the frustration is growing. They’ve seen this movie before — the slow starts, the injuries, the tired legs. The difference this time is that the team looks unsure about its own identity. Under Klopp, everyone knew what Liverpool stood for. The pressing, the intensity, the emotional fire. Under Slot, things are different. He’s building something more controlled, more tactical, but transitions take time, and time is something Liverpool fans rarely give. The crowd at Anfield have been patient, but patience has limits. Every mispass, every defensive mistake, every defeat adds to the noise. And when a respected pundit like Nevin says that your best player is also your tactical weakness, that noise turns into a roar.
Nevin’s words also hit at something deeper — the mental strain. “There are definitely problems at Liverpool,” he said. “Players like Isak and Wirtz haven’t gelled yet. The system isn’t clicking.” It’s true. Alexander Isak, the expensive signing meant to bring new energy up front, still looks like he’s learning how to play the Liverpool way. Florian Wirtz, another technically gifted player, seems caught between roles. They’re both brilliant footballers, but brilliance alone isn’t enough in a team that demands synchronization like a symphony. One wrong note, and the whole performance sounds off. That’s what’s happening now — too many new notes, not enough harmony.
As Liverpool prepare to face Manchester United after the international break, the tension is real. The match feels bigger than usual. Not just a rivalry, but a test of Slot’s leadership, of whether the players still believe. Manchester United at Anfield is always emotional, but this one carries the pressure of redemption. Liverpool need to remind themselves and the world who they are. Nevin, speaking calmly, said he doesn’t think Liverpool will run away with the title this season. He said Arsenal look more complete, more prepared, more confident. But he also gave Liverpool one huge advantage — experience. “The biggest thing Liverpool have over Arsenal,” he said, “is that they know they can win the league. They’ve done it before. Arsenal only think they can.”
That line felt like both a compliment and a challenge. Liverpool’s story is filled with comebacks, moments where they’ve been written off only to rise again. Maybe this is another one of those times. Maybe this struggle is part of the journey, the kind of storm that forges champions. But for that to happen, Slot will need to fix the imbalance, to stop using players where they don’t belong, and to restore the hunger that once defined his side.
Szoboszlai, despite everything, has become a symbol of both Liverpool’s strength and weakness. His energy, his fight, his technical quality — all those things have kept the team alive during tough games. But his defensive errors, his positioning issues, and the lack of cover around him have exposed Liverpool’s tactical confusion. Nevin said he could write a book about the mistakes Szoboszlai has made at right-back, and he wasn’t exaggerating. Those moments — a missed tackle, a lost runner, a misplaced pass — have cost Liverpool goals. Yet it’s hard to blame him. He’s being asked to do too much, to be something he’s not.
It’s almost poetic, in a painful way. The player who has given everything, who runs the most, who never hides, is also the player being quietly criticized for not being perfect in a position he doesn’t belong to. It shows how deep the problems go. Slot, to his credit, hasn’t blamed anyone. He knows the squad is stretched. Injuries, tactical adjustments, and mental fatigue have created a storm. But the Premier League doesn’t wait for you to fix yourself. Every week brings another challenge, another opponent ready to take advantage.
Chelsea’s narrow win over Liverpool exposed that fragility. They were using their sixth and seventh-choice centre-backs and still managed to beat the champions. That says everything about how unpredictable this season has become. Arsenal now lead the table, looking calm and confident. Liverpool chase from behind, knowing that another slip could open a gap too wide to close. And then comes the emotion — the fans, the media, the pundits — everyone watching, everyone judging.
Nevin ended his thoughts with a small warning and a small hope. He said that football can change fast. One win, one performance, one spark, and everything feels different. He mentioned Arsenal’s strength in depth, how they could lose a player like Declan Rice and still replace him, how they have Odegaard, Zubimendi, Eze, and others. Liverpool don’t have that luxury right now. Their squad feels thinner, their rotations forced. But Nevin also said something that Liverpool fans will hold onto — belief. Belief is what carried them through the years of Klopp. Belief is what made them fight in Madrid, in Barcelona, in countless impossible nights. That belief hasn’t disappeared. It’s just buried under confusion and fatigue.
So maybe Pat Nevin’s words were not an attack, but a reminder. A reminder that being the best player in a struggling team doesn’t always mean things are right. Sometimes it means you’re trying to fix too many broken things at once. Szoboszlai is not the problem — he’s the symptom of a team searching for its balance. Salah is not finished — he’s just tired from carrying the world. Slot is not clueless — he’s just caught in the hardest part of a rebuild, the part where faith is tested.
Liverpool will rise again. They always do. But right now, they’re learning the painful lessons that come between glory and stability. The fans know it. The players feel it. And the pundits, like Nevin, are only voicing what everyone secretly fears — that the road to greatness is never straight, and even the best can stumble. But in that stumble lies the chance to start again, to rediscover the fire that made Liverpool who they are. And if history has taught anything, it’s that Liverpool never stay down for long. Because at Anfield, belief is not optional — it’s part of the air they breathe.
