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Liverpool Still Searching for Convincing Performance Despite Encouraging Stats
Liverpool’s recent results have nudged them back into contention for Champions League qualification, yet the lingering question around their overall performance remains stubbornly unresolved. According to an article in The Times, archived at archive.today, the numbers hint at improvement, but the matchday experience tells a more complicated story.
Across the first 20 matches compared with the last 20, Liverpool have scored more goals, improved their xG differential and tightened their defence. Goals from open play have risen from 25 to 28, while total goals jumped from 32 to 41. Clean sheets have increased dramatically, and set-piece output has improved both offensively and defensively.
Yet football is not played on spreadsheets. Anyone who watched Liverpool’s awkward first half against Nottingham Forest would struggle to reconcile that performance with the positive stats.
Liverpool’s pressing has not reached previous levels, their possession has dipped slightly, and their early-game intensity is lacking. The result is a side that appears structurally improved but emotionally inconsistent. The stats are trending upwards; the performances remain patchy.
Nottingham, England, 22nd February 2026. Ryan Gravenberch of Liverpool goes forward
Defensive Improvements Mask Lingering Attacking Issues
One area where Liverpool’s stats clearly show progress is defence. Clean sheets rose from four in the opening half of the season to ten in the next 20 games. Goals conceded from open play dropped from 20 to nine. That is tangible improvement.
Set pieces, previously a glaring weakness, have also turned around. As Arne Slot admitted in comments quoted in the original source, “We have been in that period of time so, so, so unlucky… we hardly gave away a chance at set pieces, but every ball went in.”
That regression to the mean has helped Liverpool’s performance metrics look healthier. They are scoring more from corners, conceding fewer, and winning more second balls.
But attacking fluency remains elusive. Liverpool have scored only five league goals before the 40th minute this season, joint lowest in the Premier League. That statistic alone explains why many matches feel flat, even when Liverpool ultimately win.
Early goals energise crowds and settle nerves. Without them, Liverpool games often drift into cautious chess matches instead of controlled dominance.
Momentum in Table Position Yet Inconsistency Persists
Liverpool were 13th in November; they are now sixth. That climb suggests a team finding form. Opta’s expected table places them fifth, with a 47.1 per cent chance of finishing in the top four.
Yet context matters. Injuries disrupted rhythm, new signings needed adaptation time, and fixture congestion affected intensity levels. Slot acknowledged that reality, saying, “Things go back to normal now… something which we expected.”
Normality, however, is not excellence. Liverpool’s performance levels fluctuate within matches. They can dominate for 30 minutes, fade for 30, and rely on late interventions. Dropped points against Leeds, Fulham, Bournemouth and Manchester City illustrate a failure to manage game states.
Consistency, not just improvement, separates title contenders from top-four hopefuls.
Path Forward Requires Better Performance Not Just Better Stats
Liverpool’s stats are respectable. Their xG has improved from minus four to plus four. Their defensive metrics are stronger. Set-piece production is up. Those numbers indicate a team moving in the right direction.
But elite football requires performances that feel inevitable, not accidental.
Liverpool must address slow starts, sharpen their pressing triggers, and rediscover attacking cohesion. Mohamed Salah’s form, squad depth, and tactical clarity will shape the run-in.
The gap between stats and performance is narrowing, but it has not closed. Liverpool are better than they were in autumn, yet still short of their own high standards.
If they combine statistical progress with convincing displays, Champions League qualification will follow naturally. Until then, the numbers will continue to flatter a team still searching for its rhythm.