The Reason Salah's Defence Duties Is Becoming a 'Little Problem' for The Reds

It appears that Mohamed Salah's lack of defensive contributions is emerging as a minor issue for Liverpool, especially when facing stronger opponents.

I can fully grasp if manager the Liverpool boss has instructed Salah to avoid defensive duties, because positioning himself advanced on the right side when regaining possession has made him one of the global deadliest strikers.

But, the players in support fail to offer adequate defensive support, creating significant challenges for anyone is playing at right-back this season.

Whether it's Conor Bradley or Dominik Szoboszlai, they end up in difficulty due to dealing with a 2v1 overload on that flank.

It proved a noticeable weakness on Saturday, resulting in Chelsea's decisive goal – and the worry is that more teams will intelligently target this weak spot.

{'Salah Has License to Avoid Defence Duties'

Primarily, it's hard to believe that the manager is telling Salah to track back and support his right-back.

Should he had been instructed to follow Chelsea's defender his direct opponent, then it was extremely obvious he wasn't doing it, and Slot would not tolerate that.

Rather, Slot is granting him the liberty to focus exclusively on offensive play, which is fine – we've seen numerous instances of different clubs adopting similar approaches, with individuals who choose to save their stamina for forward moves.

Certainly, there are always certain moments in a game when you are conceding chances and one might take it upon yourself to track back.

It's known he can do it, because when they triumphed at Manchester City previously, his defensive performance was among the best I've seen from him.

However, he must have been instructed to perform that role on that day, which is why I am not criticizing him if he is told to remain advanced.

'The Real Issue Is How Liverpool Are Structured In Support of Salah'

The concern with Salah is more about how Liverpool are organized behind him, especially when playing top opponents.

His players need to offer more and faster assistance, as it seemed like Chelsea were advancing the ball upfield and subsequently switching it to their left, since that's where the space existed.

When a Liverpool central player moved wide belatedly – be it Alexis Mac Allister – then he left openings in central areas in front of the defence because Liverpool were missing a man from the midfield.

This situation becomes less critical when playing opponents that they control possession against – as we've seen Liverpool past success playing such tactics – but they need to tighten up because the elite teams will take advantage.

'Liverpool Have Lost Command of Games'

It is not as if he has changed his duties recently, but because he is not scoring at the other end, maybe the defensive aspect of his game is amplified.

I am not too concerned about his current performance, because he will improve – history shows – in terms of his goal scoring.

He got into some excellent positions against their opponents but perhaps shot when he could have assisted, and the opposite, but those chances will keep coming and the goals will follow.

My main concern with the team at the moment is their lack of command in matches relative to the previous campaign.

It has been a frustrating period for them, of course, not only to lose three matches in a row in the domestic league and European competition but as the display standards have not been expectations.

We must consider mitigating factors, certainly, with all the squad adjustments in the summer and the several of individuals who missed pre-season, but last season the manager's Liverpool appeared so effective at controlling matches and that is no longer the case.

It seemed like their organization was solid, and Slot's more possession-based style brought greater command.

This was something that observers immediately saw he had added to the team, compared to what it was like under the former coach.

Currently, however, observing them and it looks somewhat disorganized. The last half-hour of the Chelsea match was hectic it felt like a knockout game – they had opportunities to secure victory, but conceded several opportunities too, which is why they ended up losing.

{How Can The Manager Address Liverpool Issues?

We can identify a few aspects that are off about Liverpool, and I keep seeing them giving the ball away, but this is not an hopeless scenario.

Just because Liverpool have some new additions – and different types too – they should not need to alter their playing style. They just need to get back to being slightly more composed and composed.

Good news is they are only one point behind table-toppers Arsenal and have opportunity to correct the issues that are going wrong.

Fitness element they are lacking will come as the individuals who missed a proper pre-season, like key attackers and defenders, will attain optimal condition shortly.

Developing effective understanding on the field requires patience too, be it between the right-back and Salah or additional key combinations.

Therefore, there is no reason to panic. It seems like at the moment in the top flight, and not only with this team but with every side, you are only one week away from 'crisis' and criticism.

The reality is what has happened to Liverpool this week will likely occur at some stage to Arsenal and Manchester City as well.

I had not actually thought City would be in the title race, but if a key attacker remains motivated and fit they will be in contention.

The London club, in defence, look excellent again and, overall, after several matches they appear very assured in their performances across the pitch – it seems a extension of last season, with an extra layer of quality and squad strength.

With Liverpool it seems more of a transition at present. But while there is ongoing work to do for them to establish the optimal balance and partnerships, it is expected everyone expects them to improve as the season advances.