Time for Arne Slot to solve Liverpool’s £320m attacking puzzle

The Dutchman’s first statement success as head coach had come at Old Trafford in the September of 2024-25 campaign when he pointed out that a 3-0 success had owed much to Erik ten Hag’s side “trying to play out from the back and we took the ball three times off them”.

Whatever faults Ruben Amorim has shown since replacing Ten Hag, naivety when facing a bitter foe was not one of them.

“Compare that to the way United then played [at Anfield] where [André] Onana only went long,” Slot added.

That 2-2 draw might be remembered for how the vulnerabilities of Liverpool’s right-hand side were exposed. Trent Alexander-Arnold, for instance, played with his head scrambled, having seen Real Madrid firm up their interest in him in the days before the game. No one around him offered much help.

Yet Slot’s takeaway was to view it as proof that change was needed. Of the top ten games in which Liverpool faced the most long balls last season, only three came before the United match.

Furthermore, Liverpool’s build-up phases against low blocks, which is the extended periods of possession they had against teams that are sat deep defensively, also increased.

In the first 18 Premier League games of last season, Slot’s side averaged 33.3 of these per game. In the last 20, this increased to 38.8. This season it is at 35.3.

Liverpool’s answer to the questions suddenly asked of them came in the summer by virtue of the unprecedented spending spree on players, such as the £125million paid to Newcastle United for striker Isak and, should bonuses be triggered, by committing £116million to Wirtz and £79million to Hugo Ekitike.

However, a summer of transition has brought its own problems.

Slot sacrificed Wirtz from the start against Chelsea in the last game before the international break, going back to what was perceived to be his tried and trusted personnel of the title-winning season, only to then bring the German on at half-time.

There were opportunities to win the game, but a last-gasp 2-1 reverse at Stamford Bridge made it three defeats in a week, after losses away to Crystal Palace and Galatasaray, in the Champions League.

Liverpool have not lost four successive games since November 2014 when Brendan Rodgers was at the helm. That run included defeats by Chelsea and Palace, a 1-0 loss in Europe [against Real Madrid] and a defeat to United — Newcastle, not Manchester.

There are various reasons why Wirtz and Isak have so far shared a pitch for only 211 minutes, chief among them being Isak’s lack of match fitness having gone on strike to force his exit from St James’ Park. The 26-year-old striker has since played 90 minutes twice for Sweden and although they came in damaging home World Cup qualifying losses to Switzerland and Kosovo, there should have been some benefit to him.

Indeed, there is an argument that Slot should now have the courage of his convictions and start pairing regularly the players he believed would lead Liverpool forward even if there is a risk of more turbulence in the short-term.

He has already acknowledged that the only way for Isak to adjust to those around him is to play more often and that logic applies to Wirtz, too. Where Ekitike, the club’s leading scorer, fits in is an altogether different question but a pressing one because he has looked the best of the signings thus far.

During the past week, Wirtz has seen the queue forming to defend him lengthen. Jürgen Klopp described him as a “once-in-a-century talent”, the Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann blamed his Liverpool team-mates for not converting the chances Wirtz had created, and Ilkay Gundogan, an international colleague, added: “Anyone who doesn’t see Flo’s outstanding quality really doesn’t understand much about football.”

Liverpool have not played, effectively at least, with a No10 behind a No9 since the days when Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres were in tandem. They had Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso behind them, providing control and balance. Klopp played with a false nine in Roberto Firmino but neither Klopp, nor Slot, could make Darwin Núñez work as a traditional centre forward.

The difficulties brought about by a switch in style have been exacerbated by problems elsewhere, though the international break may, unusually, have helped Slot in that regard. However, a planned day off on Thursday means only a 48-hour lead in to the United game.

Alexis Mac Allister, who has lacked rhythm due to injury, scored twice and played 90 minutes in Argentina’s 6-0 shellacking of Puerto Rico, Dominik Szoboszlai scored a late equaliser for Hungary against Portugal, Mohamed Salah’s Egypt qualified for the World Cup and he was rested for the second game of the international break, Cody Gakpo registered three goals and an assist in two games for Holland, and Conor Bradley excelled for Northern Ireland against Slovakia before missing the defeat by Germany through suspension.

Liverpool would immediately improve should Mac Allister return to form, Salah, who has scored or assisted 18 of his side’s past 25 goals against United, is re-energised and there is some solidity at right back, where the use of Szoboszlai deprives the team of his energy in his more accustomed midfield role.

Marc Cucurella, the Chelsea left back, said their head coach Enzo Maresca had told his team to target Liverpool’s right side because that is where there is space. Salah does not track back to help the full back and instead tends to be primed for the chance to counter.

That flank is being targeted more this season, than last, by rivals who are also attacking through more central areas. Liverpool have kept only two clean sheets in their past 16 matches in all competitions, and their habit of conceding twice in matches has become a worry.

Challenging for honours is not supposed to be easy but, in Slot’s view, the complications can be traced back to United’s previous appointment in front of the Kop.

Liverpool v Man United

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