The numbers behind Liverpool’s drop-off this season

Liverpool’s Premier League season is being defined by a frustrating gap between how we want to play and what the numbers keep saying about us.

The 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth simply put a sharper frame around problems that have been building for months.

BBC Sport journalist Melissa Edwards summed up the mood in a way that fits the wider picture, asking: “With only four personnel changes… where have 2024-25 Liverpool gone?”

That question matters because our league position does not flatter us right now, with us sitting sixth on 36 points after 23 games, outside the top four.

Liverpool attacking stats show a blunt edge compared to last season

The BBC piece points to a major drop in our threat.

Edwards notes that at the same stage last season we had “hit the target with 152 shots… [and] conceded 74 shots on target”, while this season we have “taken 99 shots on target and faced… 97”.

That swing is huge because it suggests we are both less dangerous and easier to play through.

SofaScore’s season profile backs up the same theme.

We are scoring 1.5 goals per game (35 in 23), but we are also conceding 1.4 (32 in 23), which is not the platform a top-four chase usually needs.

The finishing detail is also uncomfortable.

We are missing 1.7 big chances per game, despite creating 2.5 big chances per game, which helps explain why so many matches have felt like hard work.

Liverpool defensive numbers highlight errors and instability

If the narrative has often focused on cutting edge, the defensive data is just as relevant.

SofaScore lists 12 errors leading to a shot and four errors leading to a goal, which is the kind of looseness that turns “control” into panic quickly.

The Bournemouth match itself was a good example of how small moments are costing us, from transitional defending to the late throw-in situation.

It is also telling that pundits have started describing the same pattern in plain language.

Gary Neville’s verdict was blunt: “They looked a little bit soft.”

Alan Shearer focused on structure and timing, saying: “The two full-backs… they were just nonexistent.”

Those opinions line up with the BBC’s argument that we have not replaced the all-round impact of Trent Alexander-Arnold at either end of the pitch, and that instability across the back line has become part of the story.

Liverpool 2025/26 league snapshot (via SofaScore)

We are not as exciting in attack or as robust without the ball as last season, and that combination is showing up in shots on target at both ends, big chances missed, and costly errors.