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Join now and get your first month for just $1<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re in crisis time for Liverpool right now,\u201d summarised Liverpool great Jamie Carragher after their latest loss.<\/p>\n Arne Slot\u2019s side has now lost four Premier League games on the trot, and after a chastening defeat to Brentford on the weekend, panic is starting to set in. <\/p>\n Not even the players can hide that truth any longer, as captain Virgil van Dijk\u2019s words after defeat to Brentford made clear.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a tough one to take,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can\u2019t deny that. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not an easy moment. <\/p>\n \u201cWe were trying to build on that (win) against Frankfurt, and this was not a nice evening to have\u201d. <\/p>\n So where has it all gone wrong for the Reds?<\/p>\n READ MORE <\/p>\n Ange favoured for shock return as manager cops jaw-dropping \u2018toxic\u2019 spray from giants in ugly split <\/a><\/p>\n \u2018All over the place\u2019: New low sparks unthinkable \u2018crisis\u2019; rival\u2019s $408m turning point \u2014 Talking Pts<\/a><\/p>\n SOFT TOUCH<\/p>\n In a league where physicality is a big selling point, teams can\u2019t afford to be easily bullied – but that\u2019s what\u2019s happening to Liverpool right now. <\/p>\n The system to beat the Reds has proven simple; play for set pieces and force the champions into a direct, physical battle and you will be rewarded, Carragher noted on Sky Sports. <\/p>\n \u201cLiverpool have to look at the physicality and height within their team because, right now, I don\u2019t think they have enough,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Within three minutes against Brentford, the Reds were ruthlessly bullied into giving up the first goal. A long throw launched by Michael Kayode, Nathan Collins leaping above Hugo Ekitike to flick on, Dango Ouattara with the finish. <\/p>\n It was almost exactly the same goal scored by Crystal Palace to secure their win over the Reds at Selhurst Park the week before. <\/p>\n This is an all too familiar pattern for the Reds. <\/p>\n The pattern has become all-too-familiar with the Reds notable shaky under the long ball, and at set pieces \u2013 and Arne Slot knows it. <\/p>\n \u201cThey (Brentford) won more duels than us, they won more second balls than us,\u201d Slot told TNT after losing to Brentford.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if you come here and you know if you are going to concede goals, then one of them may be a set-piece, and a counter-attack is also one of their biggest strengths and that\u2019s how we conceded two goals.\u201d<\/p>\n Maguire strikes late to sink Reds | 00:17<\/p>\n ATTACKING ISSUES ABOUND<\/p>\n Liverpool have signed some of the best attackers in the world to join the likes of Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo at the club. Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz have been touted as two of the best in the world in their positions over the last couple of years. Meanwhile, Hugo Ekitike has enjoyed a mostly excellent start to his Liverpool career. <\/p>\n However, despite the star power available, the attacking balance appears off. <\/p>\n And central to that balance not working is the fact that Mohamed Salah, is struggling. <\/p>\n The Egyptian is one of the club\u2019s greatest ever footballers, but despite his consolation goal late against Brentford, he\u2019s had an uncharacteristically poor start to the season. <\/p>\n It prompted Carragher to lay out a warning over the 33-year-old winger while speaking on the Gary Neville podcast after last week\u2019s loss to Manchester United. <\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re at that stage now where Mo Salah shouldn\u2019t be a guaranteed starter every week. I do think this is a real conundrum for the manager going forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n This is a notion that would have been unthinkable last season. But with only two non-penalty goals so far in the Premier League, it\u2019s becoming harder to argue with. <\/p>\n Indeed, across nearly 10,000 votes in a poll conducted by the Daily Mail last week, more than 70 per cent of responders said Salah should be dropped. <\/p>\n Earlier this month, simply the threat of dropping Salah was something that former Liverpool striker John Aldridge encouraged Slot to employ in a bid to get him firing again. <\/p>\n \u201cThe fear of being dropped could be a powerful tool for Arne Slot \u2026 if Salah is in something of a slump,\u201d he wrote in the Liverpool Echo. <\/p>\n \u201cReputations shouldn\u2019t really matter, if you are not at the races then the manager sometimes has a big decision to make and I don\u2019t think Liverpool\u2019s would shirk it if it came down to it, especially with the players he has elsewhere in that forward line.\u201d<\/p>\n Salah\u2019s effectiveness on the ball has excused his lack of defensive work. But without that production, his position in the starting XI comes under question.<\/p>\n Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has had a poor start to the season.Source: AP<\/p>\n NO FALLING BACK ON THE FULL-BACKS<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was watching Arsenal vs Atletico, I was watching [Myles] Lewis-Skelly. Obviously Jurrien Timber played, you\u2019ve got Ben White and [Riccardo] Calafiori. I thought all Arsenal\u2019s fullbacks are better than Liverpool\u2019s, all four of them – that\u2019s a big problem for Liverpool.\u201d<\/p>\n This was the brutal assessment of former England right back Gary Neville on the Stick to Football podcast after the Reds\u2019 loss to Brentford.<\/p>\n And while it is scathing, on current form, it\u2019s hard to deny based on the weight of this season. <\/p>\n For years, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson were seen as arguably the best full back partnership in the world. Now, however, with the former gone to Real Madrid, and Robertson no longer at the height of his powers, these positions are looking vulnerable. <\/p>\n While Milos Kerkez and Conor Bradley are considered excellent players, their passing abilities are a notable downgrade on their predecessors. Last season, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson averaged 49.3 forward passes between them per 90, according to Sqwawka. By comparison, Conor Bradley and Milos Kerkez have averaged 30.3 between them. <\/p>\n This lack of progression from the back means Liverpool are far easier to pen into their own half. Dominik Szoboszlai\u2019s presence at right back has made some difference, but moving the Hungarian midfielder to right back could be problematic long-term. His ability to lead the press high up the pitch, as well as his physicality in midfield, is valuable and would be missed. <\/p>\n Combine this with defensive mistakes on both sides, and what has traditionally been such a position of strength for Liverpool over the past eight seasons is now looking like an area of concern. <\/p>\n Arne Slot is seeing his title defence slipping away quickly.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n ISSUE WITH $240 MILLION WIZARD <\/p>\n Wirtz has had a slow start to his maiden Liverpool season. The 22-year-old Germany international has no goals and no assists in eight Premier League matches this season, but there are questions over whether Slot is asking him to do a job which doesn\u2019t suit his prodigious talents. <\/p>\n As noted by BBC Sport\u2019s <\/a>football tactics correspondent, Umir Irfan<\/a>, Wirtz has had to carry the burden of more defensive work, dropping deep to find the ball which, in turn, has limited the amount of time he spends in advanced positions. <\/p>\n Under Xabi Alonso at his previous club, Bayer Leverkusen, he was used primarily starting as a left-sided attacking midfielder. This meant the diminutive playmaker could pick the ball up in space near the touchline and lift his head with more time on the ball to create opportunities. It was from this position that Wirtz helped inspire Leverkusen\u2019s 23\/24 Bundesliga title win.<\/p>\n Now, however, he is being asked to act in a deeper, more central role. Or, as in losses to Manchester United and Chelsea, he\u2019s been relegated to a bench role. <\/p>\n There have been promising flashes, such as in bench cameos or when he provided two assists in Liverpool\u2019s 5-1 over Frankfurt. <\/p>\n Unlocking the best from Wirtz more regularly will be essential to getting the Reds out of their current malaise.<\/p>\n Star signing Florian Wirtz has had a slow start to his maiden Liverpool season.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n CAN ISAK AND EKITIKE WORK TOGETHER?<\/p>\n When Liverpool fans saw the names coming into their striking department this season, they couldn\u2019t believe their eyes. <\/p>\n However, there\u2019s an argument now that Ekitike and Isak may not be able to coexist in the same team. <\/p>\n Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney says the big-money Swede, Isak, should have to be made to work to get past Ekitike for the position of Liverpool\u2019s starting number 9.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761200708_112_poster-fallback.png\"\/)
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