Liverpool's Season So Far: Are We Seeing Resilience or a Reality Check Waiting to Happen?

Liverpool's Season So Far: Are We Seeing Resilience or a Reality Check Waiting to Happen?

Liverpool sit top of the Premier League table, saw off Southampton to progress in the Carabao Cup, and were victorious in their opening Champions League match against Atletico Madrid. On that basis, you would think the current Premier League Champions looked at their imperious best, but that could not be further from the truth.

Arne Slot's side have won six of their games with goals coming past the 86th minute mark, and whilst you cant fault the mentality of the side, question need to start being asked at some point.

A Taste of Their Own Medicine

Liverpool suffered their first league defeat of the season on Saturday thanks to a 98th minute winner from Crystal Palace's Eddie Nketiah to give Oliver Glasner's side a 2-1 win against the champions.

Marc Guéhi assist, Eddie Nketiah finish.

Beating Liverpool to remain unbeaten right at the end. Scenes.

Powered by @SunExpress Airlines 🛫 pic.twitter.com/nSd6sOkVbX

— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) September 27, 2025

Ismaïla Sarr gave the hosts the lead in the sixth minute after Liverpool failed to deal with a corner and were rightfully punished. The fact the scoreline stayed 1-0 going into halftime was nothing short of a miracle. Had it not been for several incredible saves from Alisson Becker, Liverpool would have been going in at the break 6-0 down, and would not have had any complaints about it.

Liverpool ultimately got their equaliser in the 87th minute thanks to Federico Chiesa, who has made an impressive start to the season as a so called 'super sub', but the Italians leveler was worthless in the end.

That first half performance from Liverpool was arguably the worst they have been since Arne Slot took charge, with a bigger concern being it's not the first time this season they have looked poor. They have now played eight games across all competitions, yet there is not a single game where they have looked convincingly better than their respective opponent.

Resilience or a Reality Check?

Are Liverpool showing exactly why they are champions, or have they been very lucky to be where they currently are?

That question could be debated either way, but Football Park has looked at it from both perspectives. A big part of winning the Premier League comes down to an elite mentality, which this Liverpool side most definitely has.

They have two-time Premier League winners like Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk, along with an abundance of new talented signings such as Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak. The phrase 'mentality monsters' has forever been associated with Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool sides, as under his tutelage, the club would go on to win every trophy possible, so an argument can be made to say that this current Liverpool squad are just showing why they are champions, with a refusal to give up in games.

In Liverpool's opening four league games, they had winning goals come in the 89th, 100th, 86th and 95th minute of the game.

Until the end 💪❤️ pic.twitter.com/Koazow4Wai

— LFCTV (@LFCTV) September 19, 2025

You simply can't fault that mentality, but ultimately they shouldn't have even been in the position to need such late goals.

This is where you can look at it from a reality perspective. Bournemouth on the opening day at Anfield and Newcastle away the following weekend, Liverpool went 2-0 up in both of those games. They then conceded twice in both of those games, which resulted in them needing a late winner.

The Bournemouth goals came from sloppy defending and a brilliant display of counter attacking football, but the warning signs were there for Arne Slot's side. At Newcastle, even with Eddie Howe's side down to ten men, Liverpool got absolutely battered. They were outfought, poor in duels, failing to win second balls and again sloppy with their defending.

These are just examples from their opening two games, but the signs are still on display now. They were very poor at Palace, as they have been for most of the season, but a loss might be the reality check they needed in order to progress.

Liverpool's Wirtz Nightmare

For those who are obsessed with the classic 'Football X (previously Twitter)', Saturday proved to be a brillaint day for hate watchers.

Lil Uzi Wirtz - X007 Tour Life, Out Now. 🚨🔥 pic.twitter.com/aX9FeEYiGv

— Hater Central (@TheHateCentral) September 27, 2025

That's zero goals, zero assists in seven games now for Florian Wirtz, which rival fans have very much enjoyed over the last few days. However, for those at Liverpool, concern is warranted.

Coming from the Bundesliga to the Premier League has seen a number of players fail the litmus test, so Wirtz understandably has adjusting time on his side. As Arne Slot said, they have signed the German for 'five years and not five games,' but you can't blame Liverpool fans for expecting a little bit more.

Adjusting to a far more intense league is acceptable, but Wirtz at the time broke the Premier League record transfer at £116 million, and a player commanding that level of fee would be expected to hit the ground running almost instantly.

It is clear Wirtz is lacking in confidence, with Arne Slot still showing full faith to his attacking midfielder, but I am sure there will be many at Liverpool currently having their doubts. You get the feeling that should Wirtz regain that confidence and explode at Liverpool, their performances might just take a turn for the better.

Form is Temporary but Class is Permanent

It is clear that Liverpool's performances will improve this season. If you are playing poorly but still winning the majority of your games against very good opponents, you clearly have a good squad.

Liverpool have also integrated several new signings into their title-winning squad, with Mo Salah also underperforming this season. Should the Egyptian find last season's form, with the new players settling, there's nothing to suggest that Arne Slot's new Liverpool can't retain the Premier League title.