From last-gasp winners to woes - Liverpool's late goal problem

Liverpool's high-wire act has been fraught with danger this season and the Premier League champions have now lost their balance spectacularly to fall from the top of the table.

Arne Slot's reigning champions snatched wins with late goals in the early stages of the defence of their title, relying on dramatic final acts to escape to victory while disguising form that has been indifferent since the season started.

Bournemouth, Newcastle United, Arsenal, Burnley and Atletico Madrid all fell to last-gasp blows – but it was a high-risk unsustainable strategy, especially with Liverpool so far from their best.

And now they have received a bitter taste of their own medicine twice in seven days.

Chelsea's deserved 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge came courtesy of Estevao Willian's 95th-minute strike, while Liverpool's first Premier League defeat of the season was inflicted by Eddie Nketiah's 97th-minute goal for Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

In between these defeats, Galatasaray beat Liverpool 1-0 in the unique atmosphere of Istanbul's imposing RAMS Park in the Champions League, Slot losing three successive games for the first time in his coaching career.

Slot was in defiant mood in the aftermath of another disappointment, going through his full range of brave faces while accentuating the positive in the face of evidence to the contrary.

"Last week, same as this week, the fine margins haven't been in our favour," Slot told BBC Match of the Day.

"In both games we've created more chances than the team we have faced - Palace and Chelsea - but the truth is that we have only scored once in both games and our opponent has scored twice."

Fine margins indeed - but there is no denying the remarkable swing in fortunes. A staggering 10 goals have been scored after the 80th-minute mark in Liverpool's 11 games so far this season.

All but two of those goals have altered the result of the match.

Liverpool's late goals - for and against - broken down

The wins...

• Liverpool 4-2 Bournemouth (Premier League) - Federico Chiesa 88' and Mohamed Salah 90+4'

• Newcastle 2-3 Liverpool (Premier League) - Rio Ngumoha 90+10'

• Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal (Premier League) - Dominik Szoboszlai 83'

• Burnley 0-1 Liverpool (Premier League) - Mohamed Salah (pen) 90+3'

• Liverpool 3-2 Atletico Madrid (Champions League) - Virgil van Dijk 90+2'

• Southampton 1-2 Liverpool (League Cup) - Hugo Ekitike 85'

The defeats...

• Crystal Palace 2-1 Liverpool (Premier League) - Federico Chiesa 87' and Eddie Nketiah 90+7'

• Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool (Premier League) - Estevao Willian 90+5'

Late goals or otherwise, the brutal truth is that Liverpool have been a pale shadow of the side the cruised to the Premier League last season since the Community Shield loss to Crystal Palace, the tables being turned on them dramatically in the last week as the flaws that have been in evidence since that Wembley defeat have been exposed.

Liverpool have looked unbalanced after an influx of nearly £450m worth of new signings, the introduction of £116m Florian Wirtz into a role behind the strikers – whether it was £70m Hugo Ekitike or £125m Alexander Isak – leaving them more exposed through the centre.

The arrival of two new full-backs, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, with instinctive attacking tendencies has also left Liverpool more vulnerable on the counter.

Slot gave Liverpool a more familiar look at Chelsea by dropping Wirtz to restore the title-winning midfield trio of Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alex Mac Allister.

Liverpool were not quite as open, although Szoboszlai was moved to right-back when Conor Bradley was replaced at half-time, but for all Slot's positive messages this was another largely flat display. They still almost got a point through Cody Gakpo's equaliser after Moises Caicedo's magnificent early opener for Chelsea.

This was until Estevao intervened as the biters of early in the season were painfully bitten back.

"I thought Chelsea just wanted it a little bit more," said ex-England forward Wayne Rooney, who is a pundit on Saturday's Match of the Day. "They showed more bite and determination in how they played. It wasn't the Liverpool we've been used to watching and Chelsea definitely deserved the three points.

"I know that's now back-to-back Premier League games where Liverpool have lost because of late goals but that's just the way it can go. They obviously started the season really well, scoring late goals themselves, but have now had a bad spell, losing three times in the space of a week, and it can be difficult to get out of that type of slump."

Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin told BBC 5 Live Sport that Liverpool's status as champions means they are firmly in the sights of their rivals.

"Arne Slot won the league in his first season and he's had to change things up a bit," said Nevin.

"Remember, he said himself, Liverpool have this big, gigantic target on their back now, everyone wants to beat them. That's the problem you've got if you're the champions. That's why it's so hard to retain the title."

Mohamed Salah, one of the greatest players ever to pull on the Liverpool shirt, has been emblematic of their struggles.

Only a fool would write off the 33-year-old who has been applying brush strokes of genius since he arrived at Anfield from Roma in June 2017, but even this great appears to be currently suffering a crisis of confidence.

Salah uncharacteristically lost possession too often then, when played in by a clever Wirtz flick at the start of the second half, dragged a perfect opportunity to equalise wide.

The Egyptian's shooting was also wild and wayward when he carved out shooting chances later in the half, his head bowed in disappointment at his own efforts.

Isak currently looks way off match sharpness, although he can claim an assist for Gakpo's goal as he turned on Szoboszlai's cross.

He headed a very presentable chance well off target from Salah's cross in the first half, looking out on his feet when he was replaced by Hugo Ekitike with 16 minutes left, his last act a vain plea for a penalty when he clashed with Reece James.

Wirtz showed some nice touches but was again mainly on the edges of the action rather than a central figure.

After Liverpool regroup following the international break, they will justifiably expect a lot more from £241m worth of attacking talent in Wirtz and Isak.

From a team threatening to carry all before it earlier in the season, albeit without being at their best and relying on late goals, Liverpool now look rocky.

This has been the worst week for Slot since he succeeded Jurgen Klopp.

Many bemoan the interruption of the international break – Liverpool are currently struggling so badly they may just welcome the chance to clear their heads.