Coach Arne Slot is facing his biggest decision since leading Liverpool. The Dutch coach was forced to choose between leaving behind Mohamed Salah - the brightest star of the team, or Alexander Isak - a record contract worth 125 million pounds, who only joined Anfield less than a month ago.
Both Salah and Isak are top strikers in the world, with their reputation affirmed through many years of top-level competition. However, their current form is not enough to ensure a starting position in the Liverpool squad.
The duo's decline has largely come from themselves, but has also been affected by major changes in the squad. This past summer, Anfield saw 7 new players arriving with a total value of approximately 450 million pounds, while 7 other players left, including Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz.
The tragic loss of Diogo Jota, who died in a car accident in July, made the atmosphere in The Kop's dressing room even more intense.
Amid the chaos, Slot has to deal with a number of other problems, especially how to maximize Florian Wirtz's talent. The German striker, expected to be Liverpool's new playmaker, has yet to score or assist after eight appearances.
The left-back position is also becoming a difficult problem for Slot, as the £40 million contract of Milos Kerkez has yet to prove himself as a worthy successor to Andy Robertson.
In the center of defense, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate continued to disappoint with inconsistent performances in the 1-2 loss to Manchester United. That result only highlights one reality: Liverpool should have completed the deal to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace early, instead of letting the £35 million contract go to waste in the last minute of the summer transfer window.
However, among the stacked problems, Slot's biggest problem still lies with Salah and Isak. Two players who seemed un replaceable were no longer worthy of their position in the starting lineup. Their continued appearances seem to show that a coach is not strong enough to make difficult decisions. These are decisions that could impact beyond Liverpool's dressing room reach.
The away trip to Germany to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League will give Slot a chance to start over. That could be an opportunity for him to leave Salah and Isak out of the starting lineup, and at the same time give reasons for rotating personnel.
This is completely reasonable in the context of the Champions League group stage allowing Liverpool to accept a defeat without having to pay too much in terms of situation. However, if they lose five consecutive games, it will be Liverpool's longest losing streak since September3.
Slot could also give Hugo Ekitike a chance, helping the French international reunite with his former club just three months after joining Liverpool for £69 million. However, rotating the squad in the Champions League is only a temporary solution.
The real test of Slot's ability to make brave decisions will come when Liverpool enter decisive matches. For example, the confrontation with Real Madrid in the Champions League next month, or the away trip to Manchester City in the Premier League 5 days later.
Ekitike is Liverpool's most productive striker this season, with 5 goals and 1 assist after 11 appearances. However, he has not started in the last 3 matches in the Premier League and Liverpool have lost all three.
A one-match suspension caused Ekitike to miss the away trip to Crystal Palace, but Slot still did not bring him back to the squad and continued to rely on Isak and Salah.
Isak, who joined Liverpool from Newcastle on the last day of the transfer window, has only scored 1 goal and contributed 1 assist after 7 appearances. The rookie worth £ 125 million has not been able to create an influence commensurate with Ekitike, both in terms of scoring ability and speed.
Meanwhile, Salah is also going through a difficult period with 3 goals and 3 assists after 11 matches. Of which, there are only 2 goals and 2 assists in the Premier League.
Salah's decline is not only reflected in statistics, but also caused Liverpool's right wing to be exploited frequently when he rarely participated in supporting the defense.
