Liverpool's Defensive Vulnerabilities: A Growing Concern for Arne Slot

Liverpool's recent performances have raised concerns about the team's defensive vulnerabilities, with Mohamed Salah's lack of defensive work being a major contributor to the issue. Against better teams, Salah's failure to track back and provide support to the right-back has left the team exposed to counter-attacks.

According to former Liverpool player Danny Murphy, the problem lies not with Salah, but with the team's setup behind him. "The issue is more about how Liverpool are set up behind Salah, especially against the better teams," Murphy said. "The other players have to be able to help more, and quicker, because it felt like Chelsea were working the ball forwards and then shifting it out to their left, because that's where the space was."

Murphy believes that the team's lack of control in games is a bigger concern than Salah's individual form. "My biggest concern with Liverpool at the moment is with their lack of control of games compared to last season," he said. "It has been a disappointing week for them, of course, not only to lose three games in a row in the Premier League and Champions League but because the performance levels have not been what we expect."

Despite the challenges, Murphy remains optimistic that the team can turn things around. "There are mitigating factors, of course, with all the personnel changes in the summer and the number of players who missed pre-season, but last season Slot's Liverpool seemed to be so good at managing games and that is no longer the case," he said. "I think they just need to get back to being a little bit more patient, and a little more composed."

Slot's ability to fix Liverpool's defensive vulnerabilities will be crucial in the coming weeks, as the team looks to regain their footing in the Premier League. With time to adjust and reach peak fitness, the team can still turn things around and make a strong push for the title.