Huge difference! With the same devilish schedule, Liverpool went from winning 10 games to winning the title to losing 7 games to compete for the Champions League.

More than a month ago, Liverpool started with 5 consecutive wins in the Premier League, including defeating its main rival Arsenal, and also defeated Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, leading the second place by 5 points in 5 league rounds. People thought that there was not much suspense about the championship this season.

However, the situation has changed suddenly. Today, Liverpool's league ranking has dropped to 8th, just behind its old rival Manchester United. It is even said that Aston Villa, who was deep in the relegation zone at the time, was ranked higher than Liverpool. From being 5 points ahead of the second place to 8 points behind the leader Arsenal, Salah's eyes began to look blank. What on earth happened to Liverpool?

Everything starts with the Crystal Palace. Liverpool lost to its opponents in the Community Shield, which seems to have laid the groundwork. In the 6th round of the Premier League, Nketiah, who transferred from Arsenal, scored a key goal in stoppage time and defeated Liverpool in a familiar way. From then on, the defending champion began a long winless period, losing 6 of the next 9 games. In the round of 32 of the League Cup, they lost to Crystal Palace for the third time and were eliminated early.

It is worth mentioning that Liverpool's three victories were all exciting, including an away victory over Frankfurt, and successive defeats of Aston Villa and Real Madrid, which brought the two teams in very hot form to an abrupt end to their consecutive victories. Just when everyone thought Liverpool was back, they were defeated by Manchester City by three goals. It seemed like a bucket of cold water was thrown on them, and everything seemed to be back to where it started.

Some people say that Liverpool's schedule is very difficult. In 10 games, they faced Crystal Palace twice, the three giants Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City, as well as two difficult opponents, Aston Villa and Brentford. In the European competition, there were away trips to Frankfurt and Galatasaray, plus the top giant Real Madrid. Judging from the opponent's situation, the strength is not weak at all. It is indeed not easy. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as a devil's schedule.

Looking back on last season, almost in the same period of time, Liverpool also had a continuous devilish schedule, starting from Crystal Palace, including the three giants Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City, as well as Aston Villa and Southampton, and faced Brighton twice. In the Champions League, the Bundesliga duo Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen, and Real Madrid. Many of the opponents are the same as this season, and they all ended with Real Madrid and Manchester City.

However, the results were quite different. They achieved 10 wins and 1 draw in 11 games last season, which surprised everyone. The devilish schedule was not devilish at all, but more like a schedule for opponents to "give away points". At the same time, Manchester City began to fall into a cycle of invincibility. Liverpool's winning streak laid the foundation for the championship. In his first year of coaching, Slott won the second Premier League championship trophy in team history.

It is also a devilish schedule, but the difference is huge. Last season, they won 10 games to win the championship. This season, they lost 7 games and fell away from the championship. Striving for the Champions League has become a more realistic goal. Especially in the summer, Liverpool is the most generous team in Europe. Isaac surpassed Wirtz and broke the Premier League transfer record twice in one summer. Ekitic scored frequently in the beginning, which seemed to be worth the money.

Unfortunately, the smooth start may be due to constant "kills". Once the goal is not scored at the end of the game, Liverpool will find it difficult to win, but will be counterattacked by the opponent's "kills". What's even worse is that after seeing Dias's outstanding performance at Bayern Munich, I believe many fans will miss this diligent and tireless attacking player. They even say that Arnold's passing is difficult to see in the current team.

Slott had to change back to the midfield combination from last season, and the "Maybach" trio slowly stabilized the team. Fortunately, the next few opponents are not strong, and there are still two weeks of national team match days to adjust. In fact, the quality of Liverpool's players is not bad at all, maybe it is just the impact of large-scale signings.

From competing for the championship to competing for the Champions League, the adjustment of mentality may be more important.