If head coach Arne Slot hoped to start the new year with a bang, Liverpool's first outing of 2026 must have left him sorely disappointed. After a 2025 that lurched from the sublime to the ridiculous, the Premier League champions will hope their insipid display in Thursday's 0-0 draw with Leeds United does not set the tone for the months ahead.
Last summer, many forecast that this would be a year in which Slot began to build a dynasty at Anfield. But with his team currently 12 points adrift of league leaders Arsenal and sorely lacking the swagger which propelled them to the title last term, it is clear the Dutch manager's immediate focus must be on restoring some much-needed dynamism to their play.
Following a torrid autumn in which Liverpool lost nine out of 12 games in all competitions, the festive period offered some green shoots of recovery, with Inter Milan, Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur among the opponents vanquished in recent weeks.
But while the stalemate with Daniel Farke's side means the Reds are now unbeaten in eight matches and a point closer in the table to third-placed Aston Villa, the atmosphere at Anfield on Thursday was far from celebratory, as familiar problems reared their heads and Liverpool too often looked devoid of ideas.
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It was the first 0-0 draw of Slot's 84-game tenure and Liverpool's first since December 2023, when they were held at home by Erik ten Hag's Manchester United. It was also only the fourth time Liverpool had failed to score in the Premier League since the start of last season. However, the fact that three of those shutouts have arrived in their last nine Premier League games reflects the Reds' recent attacking deficiencies.
In the first half against Leeds, Liverpool showed glimpses of offensive promise; chiefly when the in-form Hugo Ekitike saw his close-range header saved by Lucas Perri after a powerful cross from Jeremie Frimpong. After the break, though, the hosts had just one shot on target -- a strike from range by Dominik Szoboszlai -- with captain Virgil van Dijk heading their best chance wide from a set piece.
Considering Leeds had not registered a clean sheet in the league since late August (also a 0-0 draw with Newcastle United), Liverpool's lack of threat was particularly damning.
"To score a goal against a team that is defending so well in and around the box, there are a few ways to unlock it," Slot said in his postmatch news conference. "That is for some teams a set piece, we were close with Virgil. Another way is something we saw against Wolves when Jeremie Frimpong had his moment of magic [one-on-one], and he had a few of those today as well.
"We are the team that has the most ball possession, but that means not a lot if you cannot create enough chances, and to create chances against a low block you need pace, individual special moments to create an overload."
Certainly, Leeds deserve credit for their battling display. They were unbeaten in five matches ahead of their trip to Merseyside and delighted in making life difficult for the hosts at Anfield. They could have emerged with more than a point, too, had substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin not strayed offside before bundling the ball into the back of goalkeeper Alisson's net late on.
By that point, Slot had rung the changes in an attempt to conjure another last-gasp winner, with Florian Wirtz among those withdrawn after struggling to build on his eye-catching display against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The fact that Liverpool's bench had scored just eight league goals between them this term is also indicative of the fact that Slot is short on game-changers.
With Mohamed Salah away at the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt and British-record signing Alexander Isak set to be sidelined for several months after undergoing surgery on a broken ankle, Liverpool would certainly benefit from some reinforcements in the January transfer window. Despite spending close to �450 million in the summer, the Reds' squad still looks unbalanced. Cody Gakpo and 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha are the only two natural wingers currently available for selection.
Ngumoha looked bright in his short cameo against Leeds but couldn't quite ignite an attack that has stuttered at the expense of Liverpool's more robust defense in recent weeks.
"It's really frustrating," Frimpong, who started at right wing before moving to right back, told Sky Sports. "We wanted to win the game. I don't think we created that [many] chances.
"[Leeds] defended well. At the end of the day, 0-0, it's very frustrating but on to the next game. Obviously we tried, of course we had a couple [of chances], I think I should have delivered the ball better. It's all I can say."
That sense of frustration was apparent both on the pitch and in the stands on Thursday. With tricky away assignments against Fulham and Arsenal up next for Liverpool, they must hope their attack sparks into life sooner rather than later.
