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Liverpool won its first three matches by shutout, and worries that new manager Arne Slot would not be able to fill the shoes left by former boss Jurgen Klopp started to subside.
Then, last weekend, the Reds were completely bottled up by 11/1 underdog Nottingham Forest in a 1-0 defeat at Anfield. All the chatter about Liverpool being a title contender has now given way to skepticism about its start under Slot. The honeymoon is over.
Adding more pressure is the fact that the Reds now have to travel to Italy to take on AC Milan in their Champions League opener on Tuesday afternoon.
It’s only been four matches, but it does seem quite evident that Slot prefers control to chaos, which represents a significant shift in tactics from Klopp, who was quite keen on his team playing an aggressive blend of soccer that led to plenty of scoring chances at both ends of the pitch.
This has shown up in the numbers as Liverpool is averaging just two total goals (GF + GA) per match under Slot — 1.34 fewer than it averaged under Klopp last season.
It is still early, but it feels as if we’re going to have to get used to a new world in which Liverpool is an Under team.
THE PLAY: Liverpool-AC Milan Under 2.5 (+130, DraftKings).
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