Halfway into Arne Slot’s debut campaign at Liverpool, they had 46 points and a six-point lead over rivals who had played a game more. Halfway into his sophomore season, and they are in fourth place. Is that fair? “Yeah, yeah,” Slot concurred.
It is an illustration that it has not gone entirely according to plan. Given that two-thirds of their £450m outlay went on attack-minded players, it feels an indictment that only one player has more league goals than Ryan Gravenberch or, in all competitions, than Dominik Szoboszlai.
