TA analyzes Liverpool s dilemma: Insufficient winger depth, Salah is no longer magical

Hupu reported on November 12 that the 0-3 defeat to Manchester City shattered the optimism inspired by consecutive victories over Real Madrid and Aston Villa in the previous week. It also left Slott's team 8 points behind the leader Arsenal in the Premier League standings. Recently, TheAthletic wrote a special article to provide an in-depth analysis of the 11 most serious problems facing Liverpool. This article is the last 6 problems in the second half.

Attendance issues

One of the reasons why Liverpool hired Slott was that he could keep players healthy and at their peak, and he improved the attendance rate of Feyenoord players. These skills seemed to have transferred to Liverpool last season, with the team being managed with care and thoughtfulness, and the work behind the scenes remaining extremely meticulous. However, problems with player attendance have been evident this season, with two key players as examples. Alisson suffered his fifth hamstring injury in three years at Galatasaray in September and has missed the past eight games. Experts told TheAthletic that the risk of a recurrence of the hamstring injury is high, and the different manners of his last two injuries underscore that. Last year against Crystal Palace, Alisson was injured when a long ball was passed wide, but at Galatasaray, the problem came when he sprinted back after Konate's pass was wrong. Isaac, mentioned above, had problems due to an unsystematic preseason, McAllister also missed most of the summer, and Jones also missed the game.

Fragile defense at set pieces

Tired of hearing about set pieces? Unfortunately, Liverpool are still conceding goals as a result. Although it's a different story in the Champions League, where Liverpool have scored four goals from set-pieces, Nico Gonzalez's goal for Manchester City was the sixth goal Slott's side have conceded from set-pieces in the Premier League this season. Worryingly, these goals were conceded in a variety of ways. There were long free-kicks that they failed to handle against Newcastle; poor header clearances against Southampton and against Crystal Palace in the league that gave the opponent simple chances; long throw-ins that cost them against Crystal Palace and Brentford; and a lack of concentration in the second attack from set pieces against Manchester United. The problem wasn't that work wasn't being done on the training ground to deal with the situation, with Slott even admitting that Liverpool spent time preparing to deal with their throw-in the day before their trip to Brentford. But the solution does not seem to have arrived. With set pieces becoming more and more important now, Liverpool's current lineup and summer window signings are not built for set piece defense. Konate and Van Dijk are Liverpool's only players with strong aerial capabilities. Nunez — who had been an elite tight end defender — was sold and there was no one to fill the role. In Liverpool's current set-piece defence, the focus, willingness and aggression are all worth looking at.

Insufficient winger depth

There are many legitimate reasons to sell Dias to Bayern Munich, but what seems less sensible is not signing an immediate replacement. This means Liverpool start the season with only two wingers, Salah and Gakpo. Chiesa is clearly viewed only as a backup option, while 17-year-old Ngumoha is still in his formative stages. Two new summer signings - Ekitic and Wirtz - can play on the wing, but are not comfortable with it, and neither is a productive one-on-one breakthrough player. Dias does have the ability to break through defenders and progress with the ball rather than waiting for the ball to pass into the final third.

Salah is no longer magical

Salah's role in Liverpool's system has always been a hot topic. When Salah led Liverpool to the championship, no one doubted this; but when the output dropped and opponents regarded this side as a weakness, the perception changed. Cucurella spoke openly about Chelsea targeting this before their clash with Liverpool in October, and City did the same on Sunday with O'Reilly and Doku's attack, to great effect. Salah provides little help to Bradley. Salah cannot be expected to do everything for the team on the offensive end, but when he cannot seize the opportunities he gets, he needs to have a greater impact without the ball.

High pressing issues

Salah's role is just one part of Liverpool's wider pressing issues. Last season, Dias and Szoboszlai played a key role in pressing off the ball. However, at the start of the season, Dias was sold and Szoboszlai played in a deeper position. Ekitic and Wirtz replaced them and took time to adapt to Liverpool's pressing system. Slott adjusted the team's off-ball formation to an asymmetrical 4-3-3, but in order to improve the team's performance without the ball, he moved Szoboszlai back to the 10th position to lead the press. There is not much difference in the intensity of Liverpool's pressing, but there is a problem with the effectiveness of the pressing. The opponent's playing style is also a factor. The increased use of long balls against Liverpool has led to fewer high-pressing opportunities for Liverpool.

The impact of Jota's death

This may come at the end of our assessment of Liverpool's problems, but in fact, any evaluation of the club's season should be viewed through the lens of the impact of Jota's death. It would be unfair to list this as an issue for Slaughter to address, but rather as a huge factor to consider when dealing with players and staff, perhaps even before he can face his own grief.