Liverpool’s last five Premier League games have produced a form line that reads like a warning label: LDDDD. That stretch is the clearest snapshot yet of Liverpool’s poor form in the Premier League – not because they have stopped getting into dangerous areas, but because the attacking process is no longer turning into separation on the scoreboard.
Across those five fixtures, Liverpool have scored five goals from 7.53 expected goals. The gap matters because it frames Liverpool’s poor form in the Premier League as a finishing problem, not an absence of opportunities – the kind of downturn that points directly to Liverpool’s finishing problems.
Liverpool’s shot volume is the loudest evidence. They attempted 83 shots, put 21 on target, and still produced just five goals. That is roughly one goal every 16.6 shots, a return that does not fit a team trying to steady itself in the Premier League top four race. It also explains why games that should have been routine have stayed alive. When control does not become a cushion, the match turns into a negotiation.
At the other end, Liverpool has not been stable enough to absorb the consequences. They conceded six goals in those five games, despite allowing 4.73 expected goals against, suggesting opponents have been punishing high-impact moments. Bournemouth’s late winner was the clearest example of what happens when dominance is not converted, and the game ends in a final-minute blow, a reminder that Liverpool’s poor defending leaves no margin when the attack fails to finish.
Control Without Conversion in Liverpool’s Poor Form in the Premier League
Liverpool’s problem is arithmetic and timing. They create enough openings to pull away, but the final action keeps failing. Volume should bring calm; instead, it has brought tension. Every miss buys the opponent time, and time fuels belief – a counterattack here, a set piece there, and suddenly the match is hanging when it should be settled.
This is not only about half-chances from distance. Liverpool has repeatedly generated enough attempts to put games away, then failed to apply the finishing touch that turns pressure into points. For a team built on inevitability, that has been the defining failure of the run – and the clearest explanation for Liverpool’s finishing problems becoming the main driver of results.
Absences, Adaptation and Hesitation in the Box
Liverpool’s finishing issues are being shaped by disruption in the forward line and by an approach in the box that has become too complicated.
Mohamed Salah’s AFCON departure definitely landed as a blow, even in a season where his performance has declined sharply from last year’s level. Liverpool didn’t lose an unstoppable version of Salah; they lost an attacker who still changes how opponents defend. His presence still draws attention, still pins defenders, and still provides a reference point that simplifies decisions in the final third.
Without him, Liverpool is down an attacker and down a familiar solution at the moments when matches need to be closed – and Liverpool’s finishing problems look even more severe in tight games.
Elsewhere, the instability has been just as costly. Isak, the record-breaking signing, has struggled to adapt to a new club, and that adaptation has been interrupted by a long-term injury. Cody Gakpo has endured a rough patch, the kind that shows up in heavier touches and delayed decisions. Ekitike has been the one consistent bright spot, but one forward can only carry so much when the collective execution keeps breaking down at the decisive moment.
The pattern inside the box has been just as telling. Too often, there is one touch too many, an unnecessary extra pass, or a search for the perfect finish that allows defenders to recover. The chance does not always disappear because of elite defending; it disappears because Liverpool hesitates. What should be a strike becomes a debate, and the debate becomes a reset – the kind of detail that keeps Liverpool’s poor form in the Premier League from stabilising.
Why Liverpool’s Poor Defending Keeps Feeling Exposed
Liverpool’s defensive issues have not always been about sustained pressure. They have been about moments – the kind that swing games. A loose phase after control. A runner not tracked. A second ball not cleared. When the attack fails to create separation, those moments stop being minor errors and start becoming results, and Liverpool’s poor defending becomes the tax on every missed chance.
Close scorelines also change the game state. Because Liverpool cannot put matches away, opponents keep countering and keep believing. Liverpool then chases the goal that should already have been won, and if their rest-defence is not set, one turnover is enough to create danger. They are playing without a safety net: the finishing has removed the margin, and Liverpool’s poor defending has not consistently protected what is left.
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The Way Out, and What Is at Stake in the Premier League Top Four Race
Liverpool does not need a complete reinvention. They need clarity at the two moments that decide matches: finishing actions in the box and controlling danger after turnovers. If Liverpool’s finishing problems persist at this rate, control will keep producing pressure without points.
Even if the title race has moved beyond them, the season is not drifting into irrelevance. The Premier League top four race remains the minimum target, and it is not won through control alone. It is won through ruthlessness – turning dominance into three points and turning tight games into clean outcomes. In a Premier League top four race defined by fine margins, Liverpool cannot afford to keep leaving matches open.
The fixes are straightforward in principle. Liverpool must simplify the final act: fewer touches, earlier shots, and a clearer priority in the box when the moment is there. They also must tighten their rest-defence and game management so missed chances do not become defensive emergencies – because when Liverpool’s poor defending meets wasted chances, the scoreboard punishes them quickly.
The next stretch of league games will offer a simple test: do Liverpool start turning control into a cushion, and do they stop letting matches stay alive into the final minutes? If they do, this run becomes a wobble inside their poor run of form in the Premier League. If they do not, the Premier League top four race becomes a scramble – and that becomes an eye sore for the Premier League defending champions.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Action Plus
Recording Date: 25.01.2026
