The above quote is attributed to arguably the Premier League’s greatest ever manager, Alex Ferguson.
Against Galatasaray on Tuesday, Liverpool failed to keep a clean sheet for the 13th time in 15 games.
It’s not about to get any easier as they play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
In the first half last night, the Reds went a goal down after Baris Alper Yilmaz was fouled by Dominik Szoboszlai in the area, with Victor Osimhen smashing the ensuing spot kick down the middle to send the home fans wild.
It may have been a “soft” penalty as some — including Premier Sports pundit and ex-Ireland international Shay Given — claimed. But it was still sloppy play from the Hungary international, who has largely impressed since being made a makeshift right-back, but looked uncomfortable in the daunting atmosphere at Galatasaray.
It was not the only time Liverpool’s defence appeared unconvincing. There were several occasions the Turkish side got in behind them in the first half, and the visitors were fortunate to be only trailing by one at the break. They also survived a few let-offs after the break.
There is no shame, of course, in struggling against Galatasaray.
Before last night, it had been 13 months since the Turkish champions lost at their home venue of Rams Park.
Tottenham were beaten at the same venue last season, one of only two defeats the North Londoners suffered in a Europa League competition they eventually won.
But the game highlighted a wider issue.
Liverpool may be top of the Premier League, but they have conceded seven goals in six games, four more than title rivals Arsenal, and an inferior record to any of the other English sides in the top five.
In addition, of their five wins, four have required a winning goal in the 83rd minute or later. It emphasises their resilience on the one hand, but these dramatic late shows are surely not sustainable over the course of a season.
Virgil van Dijk is still widely regarded as among the best defenders in the world, but at 34, he has seen better times and cannot rely on his pace and physicality to the same extent as he once did.
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Ibrahima Konaté has looked error-prone and inept at times this season, especially in the fortuitous 3-2 win at Newcastle.
The new full-backs, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, have also been defensively suspect, although it’s worth pointing out that one of their predecessors, Trent Alexander-Arnold, was not exactly flawless in that department either.
It was confirmed over the weekend that Giovanni Leoni, the centre-back they signed for £26 million (€30 million) from Parma, will miss roughly a year of action after suffering an ACL injury.
They have also sold Caoimhín Kelleher and Jarell Quansah for £12.5 million (€14 million) and £30 million (€34 million) respectively. While neither was ever considered a nailed-on starter, both were seen as reliable squad players.
So beyond Van Dijk and Konaté, Joe Gomez — who has been linked with a move away from the club — is the only obvious experienced option at centre-half, at least until January, when the Reds may make a renewed attempt to sign Crystal Palace’s in-demand star Marc Guéhi.
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker looks on after being substituted off. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
And with Alisson picking up an injury on Tuesday night — the seriousness of which has yet to be confirmed at the time of writing — it might soon become apparent whether the £25 million (€29 million) paid for back-up goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was money well spent.
But like many clichés, the aforementioned Ferguson quote is only partly true.
It’s fair to say no team has ever won the title by shipping goals at an excessive rate.
But the importance of having the best defence in the league is sometimes exaggerated.
Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle famously blew a 12-point lead during the 1995-96 campaign.
They were known as the ‘entertainers’ because they had a formidable array of attacking talent.
The prevailing consensus has long been that their inadequate backline was to blame for coming up short in the title race, with the famous 4-3 loss to Liverpool towards the end of the season often cited as pivotal and symptomatic of their woes.
And that might be true to some extent, but what often gets overlooked is that the Magpies only conceded two more than the United side that were crowned champions and scored seven fewer.
Both Liverpool and Arsenal conceded fewer than the top two in that campaign, but finished third and fifth.
And that year is hardly an anomaly.
In the last five seasons, the Premier League has been won by the team with the statistically best attack every time.
But only once in that period have the title winners conceded fewer than any other team in the division.
This is generally representative of a wider trend.
In 33 Premier League seasons, just over a third (12) have seen the team with the standalone-best defence emerge triumphant.
By contrast, the best attack has prevailed just shy of two-thirds of the time (21).
Perhaps what’s most fascinating is how infrequently the Premier League champions boast the best defence and attack simultaneously — it has happened on just six occasions.
That statistic highlights the scope of the challenge Arne Slot faces.
Managers achieving the perfect balance are rare.
The Dutchman did well last season to create a sense of continuity from the Jurgen Klopp era, to the extent that the Reds finished with the same goals for and against record last year as the season before (86 and 41)
But it’s been a summer of significant change at Anfield, and this year arguably represents a sterner test for the reigning champions.
As problematic as their defence looks, in attack, too, big-money signings like Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz have yet to achieve liftoff. Even more experienced campaigners such as Mo Salah and Alexis Mac Allister have at times struggled to replicate their form from last season.
Tuesday’s loss meant Slot’s men suffered back-to-back defeats for only the second time in his reign.
However, they won the first seven of their Champions League matches last season, only to be promptly dumped out in the knockout stages by PSG, which is perhaps why the coach chose to leave Salah and Isak on the bench initially last night, with European football increasingly a marathon rather than a sprint these days.
So Slot won’t be losing much sleep over the surprise loss in Turkey, but the wider patterns of this season leave some cause for concern.
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Could Liverpool's defence cost them the title?
“ATTACK WINS you games, defence wins you titles.”
The above quote is attributed to arguably the Premier League’s greatest ever manager, Alex Ferguson.
Against Galatasaray on Tuesday, Liverpool failed to keep a clean sheet for the 13th time in 15 games.
It’s not about to get any easier as they play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
In the first half last night, the Reds went a goal down after Baris Alper Yilmaz was fouled by Dominik Szoboszlai in the area, with Victor Osimhen smashing the ensuing spot kick down the middle to send the home fans wild.
It may have been a “soft” penalty as some — including Premier Sports pundit and ex-Ireland international Shay Given — claimed. But it was still sloppy play from the Hungary international, who has largely impressed since being made a makeshift right-back, but looked uncomfortable in the daunting atmosphere at Galatasaray.
It was not the only time Liverpool’s defence appeared unconvincing. There were several occasions the Turkish side got in behind them in the first half, and the visitors were fortunate to be only trailing by one at the break. They also survived a few let-offs after the break.
There is no shame, of course, in struggling against Galatasaray.
Before last night, it had been 13 months since the Turkish champions lost at their home venue of Rams Park.
Tottenham were beaten at the same venue last season, one of only two defeats the North Londoners suffered in a Europa League competition they eventually won.
But the game highlighted a wider issue.
Liverpool may be top of the Premier League, but they have conceded seven goals in six games, four more than title rivals Arsenal, and an inferior record to any of the other English sides in the top five.
In addition, of their five wins, four have required a winning goal in the 83rd minute or later. It emphasises their resilience on the one hand, but these dramatic late shows are surely not sustainable over the course of a season.
Virgil van Dijk is still widely regarded as among the best defenders in the world, but at 34, he has seen better times and cannot rely on his pace and physicality to the same extent as he once did.
Ibrahima Konaté has looked error-prone and inept at times this season, especially in the fortuitous 3-2 win at Newcastle.
The new full-backs, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, have also been defensively suspect, although it’s worth pointing out that one of their predecessors, Trent Alexander-Arnold, was not exactly flawless in that department either.
It was confirmed over the weekend that Giovanni Leoni, the centre-back they signed for £26 million (€30 million) from Parma, will miss roughly a year of action after suffering an ACL injury.
They have also sold Caoimhín Kelleher and Jarell Quansah for £12.5 million (€14 million) and £30 million (€34 million) respectively. While neither was ever considered a nailed-on starter, both were seen as reliable squad players.
So beyond Van Dijk and Konaté, Joe Gomez — who has been linked with a move away from the club — is the only obvious experienced option at centre-half, at least until January, when the Reds may make a renewed attempt to sign Crystal Palace’s in-demand star Marc Guéhi.
And with Alisson picking up an injury on Tuesday night — the seriousness of which has yet to be confirmed at the time of writing — it might soon become apparent whether the £25 million (€29 million) paid for back-up goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was money well spent.
But like many clichés, the aforementioned Ferguson quote is only partly true.
It’s fair to say no team has ever won the title by shipping goals at an excessive rate.
But the importance of having the best defence in the league is sometimes exaggerated.
Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle famously blew a 12-point lead during the 1995-96 campaign.
They were known as the ‘entertainers’ because they had a formidable array of attacking talent.
The prevailing consensus has long been that their inadequate backline was to blame for coming up short in the title race, with the famous 4-3 loss to Liverpool towards the end of the season often cited as pivotal and symptomatic of their woes.
And that might be true to some extent, but what often gets overlooked is that the Magpies only conceded two more than the United side that were crowned champions and scored seven fewer.
Both Liverpool and Arsenal conceded fewer than the top two in that campaign, but finished third and fifth.
And that year is hardly an anomaly.
In the last five seasons, the Premier League has been won by the team with the statistically best attack every time.
But only once in that period have the title winners conceded fewer than any other team in the division.
This is generally representative of a wider trend.
In 33 Premier League seasons, just over a third (12) have seen the team with the standalone-best defence emerge triumphant.
By contrast, the best attack has prevailed just shy of two-thirds of the time (21).
Perhaps what’s most fascinating is how infrequently the Premier League champions boast the best defence and attack simultaneously — it has happened on just six occasions.
That statistic highlights the scope of the challenge Arne Slot faces.
Managers achieving the perfect balance are rare.
The Dutchman did well last season to create a sense of continuity from the Jurgen Klopp era, to the extent that the Reds finished with the same goals for and against record last year as the season before (86 and 41)
But it’s been a summer of significant change at Anfield, and this year arguably represents a sterner test for the reigning champions.
As problematic as their defence looks, in attack, too, big-money signings like Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz have yet to achieve liftoff. Even more experienced campaigners such as Mo Salah and Alexis Mac Allister have at times struggled to replicate their form from last season.
Tuesday’s loss meant Slot’s men suffered back-to-back defeats for only the second time in his reign.
However, they won the first seven of their Champions League matches last season, only to be promptly dumped out in the knockout stages by PSG, which is perhaps why the coach chose to leave Salah and Isak on the bench initially last night, with European football increasingly a marathon rather than a sprint these days.
So Slot won’t be losing much sleep over the surprise loss in Turkey, but the wider patterns of this season leave some cause for concern.
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UEFA Champions League EPL Premier League Soccer talking point Galatasaray Liverpool unconvincing