Liverpool fans have been crying out to see something different from their team during their recent run of disastrous form.
Despite losing consistently since September, Arne Slot has seemed reluctant to change his approach. Sunday against West Ham felt like his final chance to do it.
Had Liverpool lost at the London Stadium, there is a genuine chance that Slot could have been waking up unemployed on Monday morning. Instead, his team dug deep to secure a 2-0 win.
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Who was your man of the match during Liverpool’s 2-0 win over West Ham?
Alexander Isak shakes hands with Arne Slot after being substituted during Liverpool's Premier League match against West Ham United at the London Stadium.
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Better than the result itself was the fact that Liverpool looked like an actual football team with a clear plan once again. Slot changed the set-up a little, dropped Mohamed Salah and reaped the rewards.
Caution should be taken before declaring that Liverpool are back, but Slot appears to have finally found a way to get the best out of his players. There is just one further tweak needed to make this the very best Reds’ XI possible.
Hugo Ekitike must be in Liverpool’s regular XI
Although it was a surprise to see Salah drop to the bench on Sunday, his form dictates that it possibly should not have been. The Egyptian has been woeful of late.
There is now a suggestion that Salah may not regain his place in the Liverpool team as he prepares to spend up to one month away at AFCON.
Hugo Ekitike pictured during Liverpool's Premier League match against West Ham United at the London Stadium
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
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In the meantime, Liverpool sadly did look better without him. Slot shifting Dominik Szoboszlai to the right meant he found a way to get the Reds three best midfielders plus Florian Wirtz into the team.
Wirtz linked up brilliantly with Szoboszlai and having Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister helping out behind them gave Liverpool more stability as well.
Joe Gomez deserves to stay in at right-back, while Alexander Isak simply has to be playing more often than not.
Florian Wirtz’s best performance for Liverpool?
95% passing accuracy
1 chance created
1 shot on target
3 passes into the final third
3/5 duels won
Top performance!
Florian Wirtz during West Ham United v Liverpool - Premier League
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Finally, the one change Slot can make to truly make this an ideal Liverpool team is by making room for Hugo Ekitike.
Cody Gakpo may have scored and claimed an assist against West Ham, but his overall performance was poor again. Bringing Ekitike in for the Dutchman would complete this new-look side.
Arne Slot given golden chance to cement best team
At any point over the past eight years, Liverpool best XI has included Salah. However, that now does not look to be the case.
With the 33-year-old leaving for a period of time, Slot has been given the perfect excuse to find a team which can function without him.
Is this Arne Slot’s best Liverpool XI moving forward?
Hugo Ekitike surely needs to be in there!
Liverpool's potential best XI
Liverpool’s potential best XI
On Sunday he did that, and he must now keep things the same for as long as he possibly can.
Bringing Ekitike in for Gakpo should provide Liverpool with a little more guile and pace on the left side, while allowing their three expensive new signings to build partnerships together.
That is the way forward for this Liverpool team. Slot stumbled on that by accident or design against West Ham and it can be the key to catapulting the Reds up the table and saving their season.
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