Liverpool unexpected truth highlights where it has gone wrong for Arne Slot
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The last time the Reds made the short journey down the East Lancs Road to take on bitter North West rivals Manchester United in September 2024, they came away with a 3-0 victory that acted as an early calling card under Arne Slot for the title-winning campaign that ultimately transpired.It came from their only three shots on target, in stark contrast to the two league meetings between two teams the previous season when Liverpool managed 62 shots of which 15 were on target but netted only two goals, one of which was a penalty.With two-goal Luis Diaz now ripping it up with Bayern Munich and Mohamed Salah, the scourge of Old Trafford, hamstrung, Slot's side will have to find a different route to unlocking a United defence that has leaked more Premier League goals in the current top 13 other than Bournemouth.Victory for Liverpool would elevate them above United into third place and move them to the brink of Champions League qualification with three games to spare.FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! Their total of 57 is fewer than United and title contenders Arsenal and Manchester City, and 23 less than they had managed at this point last season when the Premier League crown had just been secured.The reasons are well documented, with Liverpool struggling to adapt without the creativity of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Salah's level having inevitably dipped at 33, summer signing Florian Wirtz having taken time to settle in attacking midfield while British record capture Alexander Isak has been hampered by fitness, injury and form concerns.A deeper dive into the statistics, though, reveals a rather surprising and pointed truth.Not counting own goals, when it comes to number of goals in relation to shots on target, Liverpool have the best such tally in the Premier League with 0.35 goals per shot - worked out by dividing their number of non-own goals, 55, into the number of shots on target, which is 154.
It's exactly the same rate they managed last season.Tellingly, the next two in the list on 0.34 are City and Arsenal, although it's perhaps a shock to see Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United as two of the next three, indicating they are proficient at converting good openings. Wolves, perhaps inevitably, are by some distance bottom of the rankings on 0.19.Liverpool also lead the way with the most number of shots on 527, one more than Sunday's opponents United, with City and Arsenal next.
City, Arsenal, Bournemouth, Brighton and Newcastle United have also had more shots on target in the Premier League this term with, once again, Wolves and Burnley at the bottom.Last season Liverpool led that tally with 215. With four games of this campaign remaining, they are a whopping 61 behind.It all goes some way to explaining why the Reds have surrendered their Premier League title.Liverpool need to start creating better chances and work on their shooting accuracy.