With Liverpool on the precipice of crisis in the Premier League, a return to the League Cup tonight against a Crystal Palace side that has proven one of the most difficult opponents for manager Arne Slot seems like at best an unwelcome distraction.
At worst, it’s an unwinnable challenge. Beating the Eagles in England’s second cup competition won’t earn the Liverpool boss any real credit with critics given, well, it’s England’s second cup competition. Losing, though, would intensify that crisis talk.
In the end, though, it’s always better to win. And given how the Reds slumped to defeat against Brentford over the weekend, a little positivity certainly wouldn’t hurt, even if on recent evidence nobody’s going to want to get too carried away if they do win.
“It goes without saying that our recent form has not reached the standards that you expect of us or that we expect of ourselves,” Slot said in his pre-match notes. “This is, of course, a major disappointment, especially given the positive start we made to the season.
“Our responsibility is to recognise what is happening and put things right. There is no other option. Part of this process involves being hurt. We should be hurt by results like Saturday’s, and we should use the feelings this creates to further fuel our motivation.
“Not that anyone could accuse the players of a lack of effort, but how we use this effort and desire is what will make the difference. Tonight’s fixture gives us an opportunity to take a step forward, not just in this competition but also in our season as a whole.”
If there’s one positive to take from Liverpool’s recent poor run that has seen them drop four in a row in the league—including a loss at Palace to kick things off—and five of their last six overall, it’s that as Slot notes, the players are still visibly putting in effort.
They haven’t given up, be it on each other or the manager, even as poor performances have turned into poor results and their chances at a title defence have all but evaporated. But if they want to salvage their season, they need to find feet and form. Quickly.
That starts tonight, at Anfield, against one of the most difficult possible opponents this Liverpool side could have found themselves drawn against. A win here might not be what does salvage the reds’ season, but a demoralizing loss would quite certainly hurt it.
“This will be a testing cup tie but this is the kind of challenge we have to embrace,” Slot added. “I do not doubt either the determination or the ability of us to respond in the right way as a team. Saying that is the easy part, though. Now we have to show it.”