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4 hours ago
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Make a call on Salah
For almost the entirety of Mohamed Salah’s Liverpool career, Anfield would have been in uproar over the striker being withdrawn moments after their team had fallen behind and with the clock ticking down on another defeat. Especially facing Manchester United, against whom he has scored a record 16 goals. Not on Sunday. Salah’s 85th-minute substitution for Jeremie Frimpong was accepted as a necessary last throw of the dice following another poor display from the Egypt international. The reaction to the switch was telling. Salah’s guaranteed place in Liverpool’s starting lineup is under threat for the first time since he joined more than eight years ago. The threat would be greater if Federico Chiesa or Frimpong, the only real alternatives on the right, made as much of an impact when starting as they do off the bench. There are no replacements of Salah’s level in the squad for the system that Slot operates. Any dip in form by the 33-year-old is therefore felt acutely. Whether it is helping Salah by selecting a more settled side around him, or rewarding Chiesa’s lively cameos with a starting role, Slot has a pressing issue to address on the usually phenomenal side of Liverpool’s forward line.
Realise risk can bring reward but also chaos
Slot has an enviable array of attacking talent and is never afraid to deploy it. The approach is laudable, part of the attraction of watching his Liverpool team, and brooked no arguments when it resulted in late wins over Bournemouth, Newcastle, Burnley and Southampton this season. But, as the head coach conceded on Sunday, it can also create an imbalance and leave a struggling defence further exposed. Slot insisted the introductions of Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz and Curtis Jones in the 62nd minute and Chiesa’s in the 72nd were necessary with Liverpool looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit for the fourth game in succession. The champions’ brightest period followed. However, Slot also blamed Harry Maguire’s winner from Liverpool’s latest set-piece failing on having “seven or eight offensive-minded players” on the pitch. “It’s not an excuse but maybe the reason why the structure in defending set pieces against Palace and now is not as perfect as we usually are,” he said. Slot’s substitutions contributed to Liverpool’s title triumph last season but at a time when his team are adjusting to so many signings it may help to limit disruption from the bench. Liverpool’s positive approach will not and should not change but the calm control of last season has given way to some chaotic performances. “We are a team who do not try to keep the draw, especially at home,” said Virgil van Dijk after the United defeat.
Recall Robertson
There is no disguising the difficult start Milos Kerkez has made at Liverpool, however much Slot has tried to defend the Hungary international and fellow new full-back Frimpong. The era of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson competing for a record number of Premier League assists and unlocking low blocks – it is not a new conundrum that Liverpool are facing – is over. Their replacements, though Conor Bradley is vying for that mantle with Frimpong at right back, are not at the same level. Not yet, at least, with both taking time to settle. Ruben Amorim targeted Kerkez’s left flank at Anfield and was rewarded with Bryan Mbeumo’s goal after 62 seconds. More could have followed from that area in the first half. The clear disconnect between the £40m signing from Bournemouth and Van Dijk was encapsulated when both went for the same cross in the second half and Kerkez almost face-planted the ball into his own net. Playing Kerkez may well be the only way to build a rapport but it feels Robertson, yet to start a Premier League game this season, has been jettisoned prematurely. Last season was his first indifferent campaign in a Liverpool shirt and came after he had rushed back from a serious ankle injury. With defensive improvement essential to halting a damaging run of losses, the Scotland captain should be recalled.
Devise a clear plan
Slot appears like the spoilt kid at Christmas in having more expensive new toys than he knows what do with. The reality of turning a summer transfer strategy that could cost up to £450m into a cohesive unit, and maximising the individual talent, is proving much more difficult than many anticipated. Slot’s triumphant debut season centred on building on and tweaking the foundations put in place by Jürgen Klopp. Chiesa was the only addition to the senior squad last summer and barely featured as Liverpool comfortably won the title with a consistency of style and team selection. Now, after a summer of upheaval, Slot is trying to accommodate Wirtz, bring Alexander Isak up to speed after a pre-season in effect spent on strike at Newcastle and introduce Ekitike. The potential £79m signing from Eintracht Frankfurt can count himself unfortunate to have been on the bench on Sunday behind the £125m record recruit. Ekitike made more of an impact than Isak when introduced although, as Slot pointed out on Friday, Liverpool made a serious investment in the Swede for what he will bring over the next six years, not over the first few weeks. Wirtz is the bigger issue among Liverpool’s expensive new arrivals. Whether it is his position in the side, and the knock-on effect for the midfield behind him, or the intensity of the Premier League, the Germany international is clearly yet to convince Slot. In three of Liverpool’s past four league games, every one an occasion against Everton, Chelsea and United, the potential £116m signing has started on the bench.
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Ensure defeats do not drain confidence
Liverpool find themselves in unfamiliar territory as they digest four straight defeats for the first time in 11 years. A fifth consecutive loss on Wednesday at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League would be almost unheard of. The last time that happened was in 1953. Slot claimed the amount of chances Liverpool created against United was a sign that confidence remained unaffected and as good an indicator as any that results will soon turn. But anxiety was unmistakable at Anfield on Sunday, in the performance of the players and the frustration of the crowd. It did not gone unnoticed by Van Dijk. The Liverpool captain said: “The first half we didn’t do the right thing, we were too rushed. The feeling at Anfield was a bit like that, especially the first half. Second half we kept fighting and found an equaliser but in the end we had nothing. I think everyone maybe felt a bit like that [anxious]. You can understand it. Coming back after the international break after three losses on the bounce everyone wants to see a good performance, including ourselves.” There was little reassurance to be found in defeat by United. Slot cannot afford for anxiety to deepen in Germany.
