Wayne Rooney insists that Liverpool have a “clear problem” that Chelsea “exploited” as the Reds lost 2-1 in the Premier League on Saturday.
Chelsea took an early lead through a brilliant strike from Moises Caicedo with Cody Gakpo getting an equaliser on 63 minutes to give Liverpool a chance to cling on to top spot in the Premier League.
However, Estevao scored a goal in second-half injury time with the Brazilian youngster sliding in at the back post to convert a Marc Cucurella cross.
Liverpool, who spent over £400m on new signings over the summer, have now lost three games in a row to Crystal Palace, Galatasaray and now Chelsea.
The Reds also gave up top spot in the Premier League to Arsenal, who beat West Ham 2-0 on Saturday and Rooney thinks Liverpool need to sort out an issue at right-back if they are to be successful this season.
Liverpool, who lost Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid in the summer transfer window, have a “clear problem” in that position, according to the former Manchester United striker.
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Rooney said on BBC’s Match of the Day: “It’s a clear problem Liverpool have got in the right back area. Conor Bradley has come off twice at half-time in the last two league games.
“They’ve tried Dominik Szoboszlai but it hasn’t really worked for him. Jeremie Frimpong was on the bench today but didn’t get on so they’ve tried three right-backs in seven league games.
“Chelsea have seen that and exploited it. The Liverpool back-four were all over the place at times, there were warning signs early on.
“Bradley got a yellow card and I’m sure that was a big factor in him getting subbed off at half-time. It was a big problem for Liverpool today as it has been all season.”
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Reacting to defeat at Chelsea, Liverpool boss Arne Slot said: “If you play at Stamford Bridge and create as many chances as we did today that is something positive we take.
“We conceded two goals in both games [against Palace last week and Chelsea today], the only chance they had in the first half – maybe you should compliment them – unfortunately we couldn’t score.
“After we scored 1-1 it went our way and I think I was waiting for us to score the second. Decision making could’ve been better, last 10-15 minutes was end-to-end.
“It’s fine margins like it’s been for as long as I’ve been here. Last week, same as this week two difficult away games, the fine margins haven’t been in our favour.
“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.”
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