Mohamed Salah for Liverpool
The curious case of Liverpool’s total loss of intensity.
Even with Andoni Iraola’s high-focus system replacing the measured approach of Arne Slot, these players are unable to produce the results that Anfield so desperately craves.
It almost beggars belief. The Reds cannot shake the problems of the previous year, clinging to them like a bad smell and threatening another campaign.
Andoni Iraola and Bradley Barcola-1
Confidence, already, is at a low ebb, and while Iraola has inherited an imbalanced and dispirited outfit, the 0-0 draw against Fulham at Anfield, Liverpool's third in four Premier League matches, is unacceptable.
What went wrong for Liverpool vs Fulham
Iraola has made a stoic start to life at Liverpool, his desire to play more attractive and aggressive football couched in a pragmatic tone which speaks toward his understanding of the severity of the Anfield side's issues.
REUTERS/Phil Noble
Iraola spoke post-match of a lack of freshness from his side, who had battled their way to victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League 72 hours before. Still, there is a concerning lack of fluency in attack, of creativity and coherence in midfield. Liverpool's midfield three won just four of 17 contested duels.
After the win over Atletico, the feel-good factor was starting to creep back in. The Reds had produced the goods on Iraola's debut in Europe's elite competition, but this was regression against Fulham.
The 2024/25 Premier League champions are no longer recognisable. This is such a far cry from a title-challenging team, despite all the money hurled at the Anfield pitch.
Last season, the likes of Mohamed Salah and, indeed, Arne Slot, were scapegoated, but these fissures run much, much deeper. We need to start seeing improvements, and perhaps it's sadly time for the new Salah to make way.
Liverpool need to bench the new Mohamed Salah
Salah is one of the greatest players in Premier League history. For Liverpool, he is the definitive superstar of the modern era, the man who led Jurgen Klopp and then Slot's projects to glory in the Premier League - and elsewhere too.
But Salah, who turned 34 this summer, fell by the wayside last term, and it was probably the right call for him to draw down the curtain on his illustrious Liverpool career.
Now, we might need to accept that Alisson Becker's days on Merseyside are also numbered, with the Brazil international's decline palpable. In recent years, he has been pulled from the imperious level he once assumed as the world's finest shot-stopper, but he is somewhat more erratic and error-strewn than before, as was evidenced when he made an unexplainable pass into the under-pressure Gravenberch's path in the first half, almost resulting in a Fulham opener.
Alisson isn't old for a goalkeeper - but he's no spring chicken, and the fact he has suffered a staggering number of injuries for a goalkeeper has clearly impacted him, wear and tear affecting his reactions and sharpness.
alisson-liverpool-premier-league
He hasn't been overly convincing in the Premier League this season, even as he kept a clean sheet against Fulham, but the cracks run deeper, with last year's fifth-place finish presenting the long-time keeper as someone whose shot-saving ability had declined. Indeed, he was one of the lowest-ranked players for save percentage in the division.
With Giorgi Mamardashvili also flattering to deceive, Liverpool have something of a conundrum between the sticks - but then that is almost reiminiscent of the Salah problem, still ongoing after FSG decided against signing an out-and-out right winger this summer.
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Lowest Premier League Save Percentages 25/26
Player
Alisson Becker
Martin Dubravka
Jose Sa
Guglielmo Vicario
Lucas Perri
Alisson, who has started every game this season across the Premier League and Champions League, is a modern Anfield great. How could we forget his incredible last-minute winner against West Bromwich Albion, his myriad of jaw-dropping saves and the commander's authority in the box.
But he's past his best, and while Liverpool persist with the injury-prone Brazilian, it's becoming increasingly clear that, as with Salah, he's no longer providing the club with bang for their buck.
Jeremie Frimpong for Liverpool-1
Jeremie Frimpong for Liverpool-1