Liverpool real issue must be addressed as 2277-minute man shows where problems lie

Liverpool real issue must be addressed as 2277-minute man shows where problems lie

Liverpool have started 2025 with a draw and a defeat - so how concerned should Arne Slot now be?

Only five other Premier League midfielders have played more minutes than Ryan Gravenberch for Liverpool this season (Image: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images )

Having stretched clear of the chasing pack thanks to a almost flawless end to December with victories over Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City and West Ham United, 2025 has started on a more subdued note for Arne Slot.

After being widely tipped to inflict more misery on a Manchester United side at their lowest-ever ebb during the Premier League era at this stage of the campaign, the Reds were held to a 2-2 draw by a much-improved performance from their historic rivals at Anfield on Sunday.

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That was followed by a 1-0 reverse to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night and the ending of a 24-game unbeaten run, which stretched back to mid-September when Nottingham Forest pilfered a 1-0 win to give Arne Slot his only home defeat to date. Fortunately for the Carabao Cup holders, there is a second leg to put things right at home, next month.

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There haven't been a whole host of problems to wade through in the last two games but the verve that coursed throughout the squad during a three-game run that saw the Reds plunder 14 goals at the end of last month, has noticeably slowed down and the energy levels of more than a few look in need of a refill.

Ryan Gravenberch is perhaps chief among them and having featured for 2277 of Liverpool's 2610 minutes across all competitions so far, it's no real surprise to see that his influence was diluted at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in particular.

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That point is backed up even further when you factor in that Gravenberch, in his last two seasons for Bayern Munich and Reds, has rarely been a regular and often on the outskirts of the squads. He has played an awful lot of football as a result and a rest this weekend is a must when the Reds entertain League Two strugglers Accrington Stanley.

Captain Virgil van Dijk was philosophical enough to accept that success will not just arrive at the Reds' door without having to fight for it, saying after the defeat to Spurs: "We're going to have more difficult moments, that is a fact. We've been there before and that is the beauty of playing for Liverpool because every game is difficult.

"The pressure is always on us as players because of the size of the club, and everything we've went through and that is a good thing. You have to embrace it and I am really looking forward to the rest of the season. I can only speak for ourselves and at the moment we are feeling fine."

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If Slot is waiting for an answer as to whether or not this is the period where the inevitable slump arrives, he is unlikely to find it on Saturday when Accrington arrive for the third round of the FA Cup. Liverpool are in something of a no-win situation where that is concerned, beyond progress to the fourth round of the competition that ranks lowest on the list of four at this stage of the campaign.

A convincing victory will be met by caveats of it coming against a team who are currently 19th in League Two, although any further difficulties will be more evidence for those praying on the downfall of Slot's Premier League and Champions League leaders.

A more definitive answer will come at full time of Tuesday's visit to Nottingham Forest, when first meets third at the City Ground. Understandably that was a fixture Van Dijk was refusing to discuss fresh from the first-leg defeat to Lucas Bergvall's controversial winner for Spurs.

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“The Forest game, that is for you guys to talk about because right now we focus on our recovery and then on to Accrington," said the Reds skipper. "They deserve respect, it's the FA Cup and that is the main focus now.”

The main focus for the players may well be treating the FA Cup, a trophy they lifted in 2022, with the utmost respect, but for many, the real issues can only be addressed beyond that, starting with Forest.

So is this the start of an unwanted, season-altering turbulent spell? Or is it the end of a stumble that will be imperceptible by the end of the campaign? We're about to find out. Just maybe not this weekend.

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