Honestly, if you looked at the Premier League table on New Year’s Day and then saw the scorelines from the last two weeks, you’d be forgiven for feeling a bit of whiplash. Liverpool Football Club is currently in a weird spot. It's that classic January grind where the legs look heavy but the expectations stay sky-high. After a string of draws that had the Anfield faithful biting their nails, the Reds finally found some breathing room in the FA Cup, but the league form is still a bit of a puzzle for Arne Slot to solve.
The Barnsley Breakthrough and the Recent Scoreboard
Let's get straight to the point. The latest Liverpool football club score was a 4-1 thumping of Barnsley in the FA Cup third round on January 12. It sounds comfortable. On paper, it was. But if you actually watched the match, there was a thirty-minute window where things felt genuinely dicey.
Dominik Szoboszlai opened the scoring early, and Jeremie Frimpong—who has been a revelation since his £29.5 million move from Leverkusen—doubled the lead. Then, a weird lapse in concentration allowed Adam Phillips to pull one back for the League One side. 2-1 at halftime. Suddenly, the "cupset" whispers started. It took late strikes from Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike to actually put the game to bed. Wirtz, the £100 million man, looked every bit the superstar when he came off the bench.
- FA Cup Score: Liverpool 4 - 1 Barnsley (Jan 12)
- Premier League Score: Arsenal 0 - 0 Liverpool (Jan 8)
- Premier League Score: Fulham 2 - 2 Liverpool (Jan 4)
- Premier League Score: Liverpool 0 - 0 Leeds United (Jan 1)
Basically, the Reds are unbeaten in 2026, but they are also technically "winless" in the Premier League this calendar year. That's a stat that bothers people. Especially when you're sitting 4th and watching Arsenal and Manchester City pull away at the top.
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Why the Premier League Scores Are Drying Up
So, what's the deal with the 0-0 at the Emirates and the stalemate against Leeds? Honestly, it’s a mix of injuries and a tactical shift that Slot himself admitted has grown "a bit dull" lately.
The loss of Conor Bradley to a serious knee injury against Arsenal was a massive blow. He’d been a spark plug for that right side. Without him, and with Mo Salah recently suffering a setback with Egypt at AFCON, the clinical edge just hasn't been there. Alexander Isak—the massive £125 million summer signing—is still finding his rhythm after some fitness issues, and while Hugo Ekitike is leading the scoring charts with 12 goals across all competitions, he can't do it all alone.
The 0-0 against Arsenal was a masterclass in "not losing," but it lacked the heavy metal chaos we used to see under Klopp. Slot is more controlled. More measured. Sometimes, that means the Liverpool football club score stays at zero because the risk-reward balance is tilted too far toward safety.
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The Isak and Wirtz Integration
Integration takes time. People forget that. Bringing in Wirtz, Isak, and Frimpong in one window is like trying to rewrite a symphony while the orchestra is playing. Isak has 3 goals in 16 appearances, which isn't exactly "Golden Boot" pace yet. Wirtz has also only managed 3 goals, though his 5 assists show he's doing the creative heavy lifting.
Looking Ahead: Can They Catch the Leaders?
The table doesn't lie. Arsenal is sitting pretty at the top with 49 points. Liverpool is back in 4th with 35. That’s a 14-point gap. It’s not insurmountable, but it’s a mountain.
Next up is Burnley at Anfield on Saturday, January 17. This is a "must-win" in the truest sense of the phrase. Burnley is 19th. They’ve struggled all season, though they did manage a 5-1 win over Millwall in the cup. If the Liverpool football club score isn't a convincing win this weekend, the pressure on Arne Slot is going to go from a simmer to a boil.
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Key Stats to Watch
- Hugo Ekitike's form: He's the top scorer (12 goals) and looks like the only one who can reliably find the net right now.
- Clean Sheets: Despite the draws, the defense is solid. Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate have been rocks.
- The AFCON Factor: Waiting for Salah’s return is the subtext of every match right now.
Actionable Insights for the Next Matchday
If you're following the Reds into the late-January fixtures, keep an eye on the lineup rotations. Slot has been leaning heavily on Szoboszlai and Mac Allister, and they looked tired in the Fulham draw.
- Watch the Wing-Backs: With Bradley out, Jeremie Frimpong's role becomes even more vital. Watch if Slot plays him higher up or sticks to a traditional back four.
- The Wirtz Factor: Expect Florian Wirtz to start against Burnley. His ability to pick locks in low-block defenses is exactly what Liverpool missed against Leeds.
- Fixture Congestion: With Marseille in the Champions League on January 21, the Burnley game is a balancing act.
The season isn't over, not by a long shot. But the era of "settling for draws" has to end if Liverpool wants to see their name back at the top of the pile. Keep an eye on the live updates this Saturday; it’s going to be a defining moment for the mid-season narrative.