Liverpool legend spots ALARMING flaw in Chelsea win | OneFootball

Sunday’s game against Chelsea was seen as the ‘real’ start of Liverpool’s season.

Nine wins from 10 games in all competitions and sitting top of the Premier League seemingly had an asterisk next to it as Liverpool hadn’t played a team that currently sit higher than 10th.

The 2-1 win was a welcome addition and allowed head coach Arne Slot to know how his side would react when challenged by one of the better teams in the country. This will be incredibly useful as he faces Arsenal, Brighton, and Aston Villa over the next three weekends.

The performance itself wasn’t a high-octane drubbing but it was incredibly controlled from Liverpool, soaking up pressure from Chelsea and then springing into life when they recovered possession. It led a similar number of non-penalty expected goals as Chelsea despite Liverpool taking four fewer shots.

Steve Nicol slams Liverpool performance

Former Liverpool player Steve Nicol was far from convinced, however. Speaking on the ESPN FC show, he slammed Arne Slot’s men.

“They've passed the test in terms of the result of the game but I'm not so sure they've passed the test in terms of the performance. I mean if I'm a Chelsea player I'm going home thinking how did we not get something out of that game,” Nicol raged.

And he went even further on the ESPN FC reaction show, saying, “We are not used to seeing Liverpool at Anfield meek and mild”.

“I wasn't impressed… I don't enjoy Liverpool playing at home at Anfield against anybody and sitting back and try to play counterattacking football," Nicol continued. “The worrying thing for me is that this is probably the biggest game of the season for Liverpool at Anfield and the way [Arne Slot] went about it was to sit. That worries me because I'll be shocked if they don't do the same at Arsenal.”

“You know you can't go away from home and close the ball high for 90 minutes… you have to pick and choose when you do it but Liverpool today against Chelsea didn't pick and choose they just decided to sit and they can't do that if they go to Arsenal. They have to get further up the field a lot more often than they did in this game.”

Liverpool’s performance in this game was a marked departure from performances under Jurgen Klopp, that much is true. But it’s also true that Liverpool won this game without conceding multiple serious chances.

Whilst it was a cagey affair and Liverpool invited pressure from Chelsea, it didn’t exactly feel like there was substantial danger from the Blues.

Nicol’s point about playing aggressively against Arsenal falls a little flat too. Arsenal are notorious for playing their own deep defensive block and looking to trigger counter-attacks - their entire second half without an attack at the Etihad earlier this season is the only example of that you need.

As a result, inviting pressure because you trust your defence and then springing your dynamic attack might be exactly what is necessary in these situations. It worked perfectly against Chelsea, and Arsenal’s attackers can be lacklustre when met with a stern defence.