{"id":484647,"date":"2025-10-09T03:41:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T03:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/484647\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T03:41:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T03:41:11","slug":"four-issues-for-arne-slot-to-address-at-liverpool-over-the-international-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/484647\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Issues for Arne Slot to Address at Liverpool Over the International Break"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liverpool have won 70% of their matches in all competitions this season and currently sit second in the Premier League, yet Arne Slot\u2019s reigning champions still find themselves barrelling towards crisis. <\/p>\n

The Reds enjoyed a fairy-tale campaign under their Dutch commander in 2024\u201325 and an unprecedented summer of spending promised the establishment of a dynasty. However, Liverpool<\/a>\u2019s loosening of the purse strings has had the opposite effect, unbalancing the side that waltzed to Premier League <\/a>glory last term. <\/p>\n

Liverpool\u2019s seven-game winning streak at the start of the campaign proved quite the red herring. Good fortune sustained a run of dramatic late victories, but luck has since run out. The Reds lost three games on the spin prior to the October international break for the first time since 2023, sucker punched by the last-gasp drama that had aided them. <\/p>\n

Liverpool can have few complaints about losses away at Crystal Palace, Galatasaray and Chelsea, all of whom were worthy victors in battles with the Reds. Fortunately for Slot, club football\u2019s hiatus offers him the opportunity to do some much-needed analysis and problem solving before his players return from international duty.<\/p>\n

Here are four things the Liverpool manager must address during the October break. <\/p>\n

\"Liverpool<\/p>\n

Liverpool have been all over the place at the back. \/ Alex Broadway\/Getty Images.<\/p>\n

Liverpool\u2019s underperformance at the beginning of the season has been characterised by their disorganised defence. Even in victories their rearguard has been pulled from pillar to post, bamboozled by anybody with the bravery to attack quickly and with significant numbers. <\/p>\n

In Liverpool\u2019s first five victories this season, they surrendered two-goal leads on three separate occasions. They were pegged back twice in the Community Shield as they ultimately fell to Palace on penalties. In their three recent defeats, they have been trailing by the 16th minute. <\/p>\n

Slot\u2019s side have conceded nine goals in the Premier League\u2014more than Everton, Sunderland and Bournemouth\u2014and are allowing 1.38 expected goals on average per match. The defensive unit which kept more clean sheets than any other team in the English top flight last season has been bypassed with alarming ease. <\/p>\n

\n

HENRY WINTER. Henry on Arse\/Liv. Arsenal Ahead of Liverpool in Integrating Summer Signings. dark<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Liverpool have struggled to find balance in their backline since refurbishing the full-back departments. The arrival of the incredibly attack-minded Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez has left gaping holes in transition, with the former struggling to establish himself as a regular and the latter making a disappointing start on Merseyside. <\/p>\n

An unsettled midfield has not aided Liverpool\u2019s organisation, with Alexis Mac Allister\u2019s fitness struggles having proven costly, while Ibrahima Konat\u00e9 and even Virgil van Dijk have been operating below their best. The arrival of several attacking superstars has further unsettled the shape of Slot\u2019s team. <\/p>\n

Fixing the defence will prove far from straightforward. Personnel and tactical alterations are required to tighten things up. But Liverpool simply can\u2019t emulate and even improve upon last season\u2019s success while their defence remains so disordered. <\/p>\n

\"Liverpool<\/p>\n

What has happened to Ibrahima Konat\u00e9? \/ Carl Recine\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Konat\u00e9 has been the fall guy for Liverpool\u2018s disastrous defensive displays this season and understandably so. While the 26-year-old is not solely to blame, his dire individual performances have been hard to ignore\u2014especially amid ongoing uncertainty regarding his Liverpool future<\/a> amid Real Madrid interest. <\/p>\n

The Frenchman appears increasingly likely to follow Trent Alexander-Arnold to the Santiago Bernab\u00e9u on a free transfer next summer, but is playing his way out of contention for a blockbuster transfer to the Spanish capital. <\/p>\n

Konat\u00e9\u2019s recklessness, poor positioning and unconvincing distribution have all been fairly scrutinised in the opening two months of the season, the defender finding life difficult against quick, powerful forwards such as Jean-Philippe Mateta and Victor Osimhen. <\/p>\n

The centre back has always been capable of producing the odd shocker, but those performances have been far too frequent this season. Slot needs to find a way of reinvigorating or simply protecting his No.5, with suitable replacements few and far between.<\/p>\n

\"Florian<\/p>\n

Florian Wirtz has made an underwhelming start at Anfield. \/ Marc Atkins\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

In a year\u2019s time, the criticism of Florian Wirtz\u2019s start at Liverpool could look very foolish. The \u00a3116 million German remains one of the world\u2018s elite attacking midfielders and will almost certainly come good at Anfield given time and patience. But, for now, he\u2019s providing Slot with an unwanted headache. <\/p>\n

It can\u2019t be denied that Wirtz\u2019s performances have been poorer than expected as he struggles to adapt to life in a new team and country, but it\u2018s the impact the 22-year-old has on Liverpool\u2019s shape and cohesion that is the major concern. <\/p>\n

Wirtz has been utilised in his preferred No.10 role since moving to Merseyside, taking over from Dominik Szoboszlai as Liverpool\u2019s most advanced midfielder. Unlike his Hungarian teammate, Wirtz doesn\u2019t offer the same defensive protection or work rate out of possession, ultimately leaving the Reds to defend with one less body than last season. <\/p>\n

Wirtz, unsurprisingly, wants to operate in and around the penalty area where he can contribute goals and assists, but the advanced positions he occupies leaves Liverpool short when the ball is turned over. The Reds are not use to having an out-and-out attacking midfielder in their starting lineup. <\/p>\n

Accommodating Wirtz while not abandoning structural integrity is the puzzle that faces Slot, and there doesn\u2018t appear to be any easy fix.<\/p>\n

\"Mohamed<\/p>\n

Mohamed Salah is struggling to replicate last season\u2019s form. \/ Gerrit van Keulen\/Soccrates\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Mohamed Salah propelled Liverpool to top spot last season and was always going to find it difficult to replicate his incredible numbers. He managed an astonishing 34 goals and 23 assists in all competitions, returns which convinced the Reds to do everything in their power to extend his contract for another two years. <\/p>\n

But, along with many of his teammates, Salah\u2019s standards have plummeted this season. He\u2019s managed three goals and three assists in nine appearances\u2014a solid return, admittedly\u2014but his general performances have been way below his usual levels. <\/p>\n

Salah has missed more big chances (three) than any other Liverpool player in the league this season and has a dribble success rate of just 12.5%. He\u2018s not offering the Reds the same clinical edge as last term and is also struggling to cause left backs issues with his usual speed and power.<\/p>\n

The 33-year-old is not playing terribly, but given Liverpool\u2019s reliance on their No.11, he needs to offer more. Right now, he\u2019s simply not doing enough in his club\u2019s time of need. <\/p>\n

READ THE LATEST LIVERPOOL NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS AND MORE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liverpool have won 70% of their matches in all competitions this season and currently sit second in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":484648,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,393,4884,179,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-484647","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-liverpool","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115342139923671462","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/484648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}