Liverpool head into their Champions League clash against Eintracht Frankfurt after four successive defeats and Arne Slot will be considering changes.
Arne Slot finds himself in uncharted territories.
For the first time in his coaching career, the Dutchman has lost four games in a row. That was something that he avoided at AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord, while he was only defeated nine times in total during his maiden season as Liverpool boss. Two of those reverses were after the Premier League title had been secured.
There has been significantly more emphasis on the Reds’ insipid run as they are not only the English champions but also spent circa £450 million in the summer transfer window. They broke their own record to sign Florian Wirtz for £100 million before splashing out £125 million to make Alexander Isak the most expensive player in British history.
However, the transition has not been seamless. So far, Liverpool have gone backwards. They are four points behind Arsenal in the Premier League and performances since the 4-2 win over AFC Bournemouth on the opening day have lacked coherence.
It might be regarded as a blessing or a curse that after a 2-1 defeat by Manchester United, Liverpool are back in action three days later. There is little time for Arne Slot on the training ground to impart his knowledge and ideas, but it is a swift chance for Liverpool to remedy their issues.
Slot will be weighing up the changes he can make to his starting line-up when the Reds face Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday. And there will be plenty of calls for two players who came off the bench to start.
Wirtz’s opening to his Liverpool career has been met with plenty of scrutiny. Such a hefty price tags means that is the case. Already, those outside of red persuasion are calling the Germany international a flop. Those who have watched him closely over the years believe he will become a hit. He fired 57 goals and 63 assists in 197 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen and was coveted by Manchester City and Bayern Munich for a reason.
After impressing off the bench against United and in the 2-1 defeat by Chelsea, Wirtz has shown he is acclimatising. A sustained run in the No.10 role is deserving. And what would help the 22-year-old flourish is if he has someone he knows acutely alongside him.
If only Liverpool had signed one of Wirtz’s former Leverkusen team-mates in the summer transfer window. If only they’d recruited one of his best friends... like Jeremie Frimpong.
Frimpong has also had a challenging opening to his time at Anfield. He has not been in the spotlight as much because the Netherlands international was purchased for £29.5 million. But so far, Frimpong has managed just one Premier League start and questions have been raised about whether he can operate as a right-back.
Still, his performance off the bench against United caught the eye. Frimpong replaced Mo Salah late in the game and should have had an assist when Cody Gakpo spurned a chance to equalise for a second time.
Frimpong is blessed with rapid pace and offers different qualities to Salah. His chief intentions are to beat the opposing full-back and deliver into the box rather than chiefly going for goal.
In the 1-0 loss by Galatasaray earlier this month, Wirtz and Frimpong displayed some encouraging signs of their rapport on the pitch. It is a tactic that Slot must consider against Frankfurt - an opposition the pair know better than only Hugo Ekitike. In the previous two seasons, Leverkusen beat on all four occasions. En route to winning the Bundesliga title in 2023-24, Xabi Alonso’s side delivered a 3-0 home victory with Frimpong and Wirtz scoring. The reverse clash was a 5-1 drubbing, with Frimpong finding the back of the net and notching an assist.
Last term, despite Frankfurt finishing just a place behind runners-up Leverkusen, there was a chasm. Die Werkself won the first meeting 2-1 although Wirtz was an unused substitute. Then in the following meeting, Leverkusen cruised to another 4-1 triumph on the road, with both Wirtz and Frimpong featuring.
After both impressed off the bench against United, plenty of supporters would like to see the duo start against Frankfurt. They have underlined they have the prowess to put Slot’s troops on the right path to success and kickstart Liverpool’s season.
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