Can Slot fix Liverpool’s slow starts, ending late drama?

When it comes to last-minute excitement, no team rivals Liverpool. This sentiment was echoed by club icon Jamie Carragher after midfielder Alexis Mac Allister found the net in the 97th minute, securing a crucial 1-0 win against Nottingham Forest last Sunday afternoon.

The Argentine midfielder’s decisive late goal at the City Ground marked the most recent thrilling episode in a Liverpool season frequently punctuated by dramatic stoppage-time deciders. This recurring theme has brought both elation and despair to head coach Arne Slot’s squad this term, as their pursuit of the title has increasingly gone off course.

In seven of Liverpool’s 27 league matches during the 2025-26 season, a winning goal has been scored after the 90th minute, a record high for any team in a single season in the competition. Four of these instances saw Slot’s team on the losing end, highlighting the inherent risks in consistently participating in such tightly contested matches — particularly in a season plagued by fragile confidence and a noticeable absence of game-changing players from the substitutes’ bench.

“My feelings were ones of joy and relief,” Slot commented following Sunday’s fixture. “Today, our play was subpar. Our execution, especially in the initial half, lacked the quality we’ve demonstrated many times this season. However, we’ve too often found ourselves on the wrong side of the scoreline despite strong performances. Today, I believe we achieved more than our play merited. A draw would have been a more equitable outcome for this game than our victory.”

This was a thoughtful evaluation from the Dutch coach, who has frequently witnessed his team falter due to narrow margins this campaign. With a spot in the UEFA Champions League on the line, Liverpool must discover how to assert dominance and reduce their reliance on last-ditch heroics. But why do so many of their matches feature goals scored in the dying moments? And what strategies can Slot implement to address this?

‘Mental stalwarts’ face their own medicine

Liverpool’s tendency to secure late-game victories is not a novel phenomenon. The club’s record of 48 winning goals scored in the 90th minute or beyond in the Premier League surpasses that of any other team in the division by at least 12.

That indomitable spirit was a defining characteristic of the Jürgen Klopp era, with the German famously dubbing his squad “mental stalwarts” after an improbable late comeback against Southampton in April 2019. The moniker endured. It appeared to embody the fortitude of a club and, more broadly, a city that has consistently risen to overcome adversity.

This elusive trait has been fundamental to much of Liverpool’s triumphs both domestically and in Europe. Captain Virgil van Dijk stated on Sunday that it was the team’s unwavering resolve that propelled them to victory against Forest, particularly after Mac Allister had a goal disallowed for handball in the 90th minute.

“I wholeheartedly agree [that we demonstrated strong mentality] because when the goal is annulled, the momentum shifts, and the [Forest] supporters fully rally behind their team,” Van Dijk explained. “They might perceive this as an opportunity to recover after a minor setback they experienced. “But I think we performed well; we generated disarray with our throw-ins and managed to net the winning goal. I believe our resilience has certainly faced scrutiny at times this season, but I think today and particularly in the past few matches, we have displayed consistency in all our actions.””

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While Liverpool’s steadfast determination is admirable, their struggle to dictate the tempo of games means they have also been susceptible to numerous late setbacks. Earlier this month, Manchester City orchestrated a comeback, seizing a 2-1 win over their Anfield rivals, with Erling Haaland converting a penalty in the 93rd minute for the decisive goal.

Liverpool’s total of four stoppage-time winning goals conceded is tied for the highest by any team in a single Premier League season, a mark previously reached by Watford in 2017-18 and 2021-22, West Ham United in 2021-22, and Southampton in 2024-25. The Reds have additionally given up injury-time goals in away fixtures against Leeds United and Fulham, transforming potential morale-boosting victories into expensive draws. The eight points they have squandered in stoppage time this season represent the most by any team in the league, fundamentally altering the outlook of Liverpool’s campaign.

Slot acknowledged after the defeat to City that pinpointing a single cause for his team’s late collapses is impossible. “It’s always a different type of goal, naturally,” he stated. “I’ve often said, our next step is to avoid relying or depending on a specific pass or another choice. We are making progress. If you compare our state now to three or four months ago, you’ll observe significant development, but the challenge is this improvement isn’t reflected in the league standings, and that remains the most crucial indicator of our position.”

Even when Liverpool cruised to the title last season, they frequently had to exert considerable effort for their points. Only seven of their last 20 league matches in 2024-25 were won by a margin of two or more goals, while just two encounters resulted in a victory with at least a three-goal difference. An internal drive to secure more comfortable wins was among the factors that prompted Liverpool to undertake a record-breaking spending spree approaching £450 million last summer, though this substantial investment has yet to yield the intended impact.

While optimism at Anfield suggests the club’s newest acquisitions can fuel sustained future success, severe injuries to Alexander Isak, Jeremie Frimpong, and Giovanni Leoni have curtailed their influence this season, and star midfielder Florian Wirtz has needed time to adjust to the demanding nature of the Premier League.

Limited options and goal scarcity hinder Liverpool’s slow starts

Perhaps Liverpool’s most notable weakness this season has been their inclination to begin matches sluggishly. They have managed only 13 goals in the first half of league games, with their current average of 0.48 first-half goals representing their second-lowest tally in the Premier League era and the third lowest in the club’s entire history.

Just seven teams have scored fewer goals than Liverpool in the opening 45 minutes of matches. Five of those clubs are positioned in the bottom half of the table. Slot’s squad has also scored a mere three goals within the first half-hour of league fixtures this season, with two of these occurring in the same game (the 2-1 triumph over Merseyside rivals Everton in September).

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These figures stand in sharp contrast to Liverpool’s second-half displays. Only league leaders Arsenal have scored more goals than the Reds after the interval. However, on several occasions in recent months, Liverpool have given themselves too much ground to recover, especially given the scarcity of game-changing talent on the bench.

Against Forest, an injury to Wirtz during the warm-up further weakened an already diminished bench, leading to Curtis Jones being brought in to replace him in midfield. The fact that Liverpool’s most impactful substitute was 17-year-old winger Rio Ngumoha, who impressed after his late entry at the City Ground, underscores the limited options currently available to Slot.

This dearth of depth has frequently led to the Reds faltering in the concluding stages of matches, leaving them susceptible to a late offensive surge from their adversaries. The Premier League’s heightened emphasis on set pieces has also proven detrimental late in games, although Liverpool’s performance in this area has begun to improve since the start of the year.

In the initial 26 matches across all competitions this season, Liverpool conceded 13 goals from set pieces while scoring eight, a disparity that prompted the departure of set-piece coach Aaron Briggs in December. Although Slot recently insisted Briggs was not at fault, the fact that they have conceded only two and scored eight from set pieces in the 13 games since his departure has undeniably contributed to the club’s recent improved form.

It is also noteworthy that, despite the abundance of late goals this season, Liverpool’s overall goal production has declined compared to previous years. Indeed, the Reds’ current total of 42 league goals is their lowest at this point in a campaign since 2015-16.

Mohamed Salah, Liverpool’s leading scorer in eight of the past nine seasons, has not found the net in the top flight since November 1 and has now gone nine league matches without a goal for the first time in his career. On the opposite flank, Cody Gakpo has only scored twice for the club since October 25, a dry spell spanning 17 games.

With goals in such limited supply, it is perhaps unsurprising that so many of Liverpool’s matches remain finely balanced in their closing moments.

No simple answers for Slot

For Slot, it is evident that there is no immediate remedy for his team’s recurring late-goal predicament. The anticipated return of crucial players in the coming weeks will be beneficial, with both Wirtz and Frimpong expected to be available for selection against West Ham next weekend, and Isak on track to rejoin team training next month.

Isak surpassed the 20-goal mark in each of his previous two seasons for former club Newcastle United and could provide Liverpool with the additional offensive power needed to secure victories more definitively against opponents. His comeback would also help alleviate the pressure on Hugo Ekitike, who leads the club’s scoring charts with 15 goals in all competitions.

Beginning matches with greater intensity — particularly at Anfield — could also curb Liverpool’s ongoing reliance on late goals, while introducing the exceptionally talented Ngumoha earlier in games could add a fresh dimension to the Reds’ attack. Ultimately, however, another summer of extensive team reconstruction might be necessary before Slot’s squad is fully equipped to perform at an optimal level for the entire 90 minutes.

Recruiting rapid wingers should be a top priority for the Anfield hierarchy, and Liverpool would also benefit from a more physically imposing presence in midfield. But until the transfer window opens, the Reds can anticipate further late-game drama.

For the neutral observer, at least, they continue to be the Premier League’s most captivating competitor.