Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith
Liverpool's mixed start to the Premier League season continued on Saturday afternoon as they were held to a 0-0 draw with Fulham at Anfield.
The Reds remain unbeaten under new boss Andoni Iraola in all competitions but have won just one of their opening four Premier League games, having been held to draws by Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest prior to Fulham, while they picked up a win over Ipswich Town, before opening their Champions League campaign with a win over Atletico Madrid.
But while the results haven't been horrendous, the performances haven't been what many are expecting from a Liverpool side that have spent almost £600m in the last two summers.
The Liverpool attack on Saturday consisted of £125m man Alexander Isak in the number nine role, £123m man Bradley Barcola on the left-wing, £116m playmaker Florian Wirtz in the number ten role, and £35m summer signing Victor Munoz on the right.
But between them, and the rest of the team, the Reds managed to conjure up just three shots on target, leading to the first time the club have failed to score this season.
Creativity is a big issue, and it's now becoming very clear that Iraola has to find a way to change things up if he wants to change draws into victories, and it starts with the centre of the pitch.
Germany international Wirtz arrived at Anfield with huge expectations, but has struggled massively ever since moving to England. The pace and intensity of the game has caused him problems, and the space he had in the Bundesliga to hit his amazing numbers of goals and assists just isn't available to him in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Iraola has continued to persist with him this season, with the 23-year-old starting every game despite his poor showings, and it's starting to affect other players - mainly Dominik Szoboszlai.
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It's Wirtz or Szoboszlai - It Can't Be Both
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Szoboszlai was the club's top performer last season under Arne Slot, with the Hungary international playing in a more advanced midfield role and chipping in with crucial goals and assists across the campaign.
But Iraola has opted to move him away from that role into a deeper position to accommodate Wirtz, and it is backfiring. Jamie Carragher has said similar but it's now obvious that Iraola must make a decision - it's Wirtz or Szoboszlai. It can't be both.
Szoboszlai isn't good enough to play in that deeper role. He's at his best galivanting forward and having freedom to cover every blade of grass. Wirtz can't play as a winger, he's not direct enough. There's no space for both of them, and Iraola must choose if he wants the energy that Szoboszlai has proven he can offer, or the guile that Wirtz has shown he possesses in another league.
Either way, it's an uncomfortable truth for Liverpool after splashing huge money on Wirtz and recently handing Szoboszlai a new long-term contract. But the manager is paid the big bucks to make these decisions, and now he must.