The bold choices of coach Arne Slot brought Liverpool results in the victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League. However, the question is which lineup will the Dutch strategist choose to face Brentford this weekend?
Slot has made a difference in his away trip to Germany, aiming to change Liverpool's fortunes after a series of unstable matches.
Using a 4-2-2-2 formation, Slot combined Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike for the first time in attack, while Florian Wirtz was also a starts. The Dutch strategist put his faith in the stars with a total value of up to 300 million pounds to prevent the team's decline.
That means star Mohamed Salah must start on the bench. And those bold decisions have brought clear results to the "Red Brigade".
Letting Salah, who has scored 52 goals in the Champions League, on the bench in a match that needed a win was an extremely brave decision by the Dutch captain.
However, compared to last season with 29 goals in the Premier League, Salah's form is clearly declining with only 2 goals after 8 rounds. His impatience was evident when he came on in the last 16 minutes. Salah kept trying to shoot from difficult angles instead of passing to his teammates in an open position.
However, Liverpool scored 5 goals thanks to 5 different players, creating a convincing 5-1 victory. The only minus point for a near-perfect night was Isak's injury, who forced him off in the first half.
So what will Slot do next? Will he continue to use the squad that helped Liverpool win in Germany? Will Salah return to the starting lineup? Who will replace Isak - the injured? And will Ekitike continue to be given the role of Liverpool's center forward?
Will Wirtz and Cody Gakpo continue to take charge of the two wings? Will Curtis Jones continue to pair Alexis Mac Allister in midfield, alongside Dominik Szoboszlai? Can Ryan Gravenberch return if he recovers physically?
In defense, Andy Robertson should be trusted to play alongside Milos Kerkez? And who will fill the right-back position after Jeremie Frimpong's injury?
Despite the convincing victory, Slot still has many problems to solve before the confrontation with Brentford this weekend.
The recent victory in the Champions League has solved many important problems when Liverpool is not short of high-class players. Now, Slot's concern is no longer finding a solution, but choosing who to start.
Instead of a headache due to lack of personnel, he is having to consider who will be on the sidelines. A pleasant headache, but it was also a real test of Slot's mettle in the journey to turn Liverpool from a valuable squad into a winning machine.
The match between Brentford and Liverpool takes place at 2:00 am on October 26 (Vietnam time).
