Stephen Warnock names where two Liverpool players have to play after Galatasaray win
Arne Slot has created some of his own problems for Liverpool this season, has he learnt his lesson?
It is one problem that every Liverpool fan could see and yet Arne Slot finally seemed to realise against Galatasaray.
Players playing in their natural positions is always more beneficial rather than trying to put square pegs in round holes, even if the starting XI has “better” players in it. Against the Turks, two of the best performers on the night were Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong who have seen their roles chopped and changed throughout the season. In their more natural homes, they showed how devastating they can be.
Liverpool duo shine in their right positions
Speaking on BBC Five Live, former Liverpool full-back Stephen Warnock highlighted the pair as being crucial in the win over Galatasaray and has urged Slot not to mess them about again: “Yeah, and I think what we saw tonight from the system was how high Frimpong played on that right-hand side and Szoboszlai tucked in, he played a little bit narrower. So Frimpong then becomes effectively a wing back. And if needed, Szoboszlai will drop back into that right back position and help fill in for him.
“But yeah, listen, you've got to play Frimpong as a right back in this situation because they don't have Conor Bradley. If Conor Bradley is fit, he's the number one right back. But it's an issue that Liverpool have got that they found themselves in after losing Trent Alexander-Arnold, that they knew Conor Bradley was going to be...
“Well, he struggled with injuries right throughout his short Liverpool career, but we know he's got those problems. Frimpong has never really been a natural right back. He covers three positions, and that's probably why Liverpool bought him as well, because they thought when Mohamed Salah goes away to AFCON, he can cover that.
“If needed, he can play some games in that position. But I don't think he was ever the player that was going to play 20, 30 games in that right back position, because I don't think he's naturally very comfortable in that position either, but he's better suited than Szoboszlai, because like you spoke about before, you lose the qualities of Szoboszlai higher up the pitch.”
Slot can’t tinker with Liverpool again
Warnock is right. It makes no sense to move Szoboszlai further away from the opposition goal where he does his best work. If anything, the midfield should be built around him with the others being tasked with roles that lets him do his thing on a more regular basis. Frimpong might not be as good defensively, but he has still played more than enough football as a right-back to know what he is doing.
Even going back to his time at Celtic, he played a similar role to what Liverpool need with a more narrow midfield. His best asset is his pace and his energy which makes him perfect for the system that was seen against Galatasaray. It is time that Slot takes advantage of what his players are capable of, rather than not picking them because of what they can’t do.