LONDON - Arne Slot admitted Liverpool are still a work in progress after the spluttering Premier League champions suffered their third successive loss in a 2-1 defeat against Chelsea on Oct 4.

For the second time in the space of a week, Liverpool’s title defence was rocked by an agonising last-gasp loss.

Beaten in the final seconds at Crystal Palace last weekend, Slot’s side stumbled again as Estevao Willian grabbed a dramatic stoppage-time winner at Stamford Bridge.

Moises Caicedo had blasted Chelsea into an early lead with a superb long-range strike before Cody Gakpo equalised in the second half.

After starting the season with seven successive wins in all competitions, the Reds lost to Palace, then Galatasaray in the Champions League in midweek before their latest flop in west London.

It is the first time that Liverpool have suffered three consecutive losses since 2023 when Jurgen Klopp was in charge for defeats against Bournemouth, Real Madrid and Manchester City.

For Slot, it was a first experience in his managerial career of three defeats in a row.

Even when Liverpool were winning at the start of the season, they needed several late goals to paper over the cracks in some creaky performances.

And Slot believes his team are not yet functioning at full power because of their summer spending spree and the tragic death of Portugal forward Diogo Jota in a car crash in Spain.

Liverpool splashed out over £400 million (S$700 million) on Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and a host of other players, but their two marquee signings have yet to shine.

“You are never close to your ideal. You have to work very hard to reach a certain level and then it’s hard to maintain that level because you play against other quality teams,” Slot said.

“We had our changes in the summer. Players came in at different moments. In the last weeks there has hardly been any t...