After 15 months when everything Arne Slot touched turned to gold, we will now have to see a different side to the Dutchman. His decisions here in the manic cacophony of RAMS Park backfired as his Liverpool team slipped to consecutive defeats.
Slot decided to leave Mohamed Salah on the bench for an hour, by which time Galatasaray had momentum in the game through Victor Osimhen’s first-half penalty. The Liverpool coach also deployed Jeremie Frimpong as an attacker rather than his more usual right-back position, with Dominik Szoboszlai dropping into the back line and conceding the winning spot-kick.
None of this feels hugely concerning, with Liverpool still top of the Premier League, yet there is clearly work to be done in a season where Slot’s team have lost control of games or, in this case, succumbed to slick opponents. After defeat at Crystal Palace at the weekend, facing Chelsea on Saturday will be another big test.
Liverpool only suffered back-to-back losses once last season, which included a penalty shoot-out defeat to Paris St-Germain who were on their way to being crowned European champions. But small tweaks all came off for Slot last season, while here in Istanbul the ball did not break their way. They also suffered worrying injuries to Alisson Becker and Hugo Ekitike. The Brazilian goalkeeper will be out for at least this weekend’s trip to Stamford Bridge.
