Liverpool manager Arne Slott’s problems are piling up as the problem now worsens

Liverpool are currently a shadow of the efficient machine that roamed the Premier League last season, having looked vulnerable from day one this season in the Community Shield defeat to Crystal Palace at Wembley.

It’s riddled with flaws, which is remarkable considering the fact that Slott received nearly £450 million to promote the newly crowned champions.

Amid all the awareness that even illustrious names signed in record deals like £116m Florian Wirtz and £125m Alexander Isak require an adaptation period, the bottom line is that neither has produced anything close to enough.

Isak was once again an unknown, selected ahead of the more dynamic Hugo Ekitiki, while Wirtz once again had to content himself with coming off the bench.

Their proven quality will leave Liverpool optimistic that their huge spending will be rewarded, but their contribution so far, at a total cost of £241m, has not extended beyond thin air.

“Arne Slott has some decisions to make,” former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock told Channel 5 Live.

“Zoboszli seems to be the better right-back and suits the midfield from that position, but does he like being there? No, but for the good of the team, it would be better.

“Then Frimpong comes in from the right and has a bigger impact in 10 minutes or so than Salah did for most of the game. He put in two exceptional balls into the box, and Jackpo should have scored from one of them. Ekitiki did more when he got in front than Isak did too.”

For a team that had a calm atmosphere full of deadly threats last season, Liverpool now suffer from an atmosphere of chaos and lack of organisation, especially in their defensive work.

Milos Kerkez struggled badly again, almost inadvertently scoring an own goal with a bounce off his face in the second half, which would have summed up Liverpool’s defence.

Debate will continue over whether referee Michael Oliver should have stopped play when Liverpool’s Alexis McAllister was lying on the ground with a head injury, which he accidentally elbowed captain Virgil van Dijk.

Instead, the game continued, and Prime Mbeumo took advantage of Van Dijk’s slow reaction to regain his position, finishing smartly past Liverpool’s deputy goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.