Mark Goldbridge pinpoints exactly why Liverpool are “struggling”; it’s not what you think

For a team that is supposedly “struggling” as much as Liverpool, there are far less enviable positions for sides to find themselves in.

Despite two consecutive losses across the Champions League (Galatasaray) and Premier League (Crystal Palace), the Merseysiders will head into a clash with Chelsea at the top of the league table.

The picture is comparatively less rosy in Europe – but no one should be panicking only two games into an eight-game league phase.

Now, Mark Goldbridge has hit the nail on the head as to why the Merseysiders are encountering some difficulties in the 2025/26 season.

Mark Goldbridge identifies Liverpool challenge Arne Slot is facing

The simple fact of the matter remains that we’ve undergone some pretty hefty surgery over the course of the summer transfer window.

Yes, the Reds have committed hundreds of millions of pounds to rebuilding the side. And that includes record-breaking deals for Florian Wirtz and former Newcastle striker Alexander Isak.

* Liverpool boss Arne Slot’s points per game records in his first two seasons, courtesy of Transfermarkt

But it doesn’t change the fact that this is a significantly different side to the one Slot inherited.

“Everybody knows that was a Klopp team that Slot did fantastically well with,” Goldbridge spoke on the That’s Football! YouTube channel.

“He deserved the right to build a “Slot team”, and he could have done it in his first summer. But Liverpool, to their credit, said, ‘We don’t want to dismantle and build, we feel we’re very close. Can you come in and work with this team for a year, and see if we’re right?’ And they were right.

“Year two always had to be what was in effect Slot’s first season – where he gets the money and is allowed to dismantle and rebuild, and that’s what we’re seeing.

“We’re probably seeing what Slot would have done a year ago, if he’d have been given the licence to do that, but they decided to stick with that project and he did great.”

Fingers have been pointed at Ibrahima Konate and Florian Wirtz

Ibrahima Konate has to take his fair share of the blame for our defensive difficulties this term.

Florian Wirtz’s struggles in adapting to the demands of English football and Arne Slot’s system have also featured in Liverpool-themed critiques.

Whilst we can factor these individual considerations into the wider picture, the fact remains that we’ve moved beyond Liverpool 2.0, as we understood it under Jurgen Klopp.

This is Liverpool 1.0. The Slot edition, rather than a remix.

So any niggling concerns, any inconsistencies, are to be expected as the manager gets to grips with a swathe of new talent.

Just for the record, it’s important to stress that this includes two new fullbacks, a new attacking midfielder, two new strikers, and effectively a new left winger (in Rio Ngumoha).

In short, a lot of fresh puzzle pieces for Slot to play around with!

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