'The players will know' - Ian Wright names Liverpool star who Arne Slot is 'going to have to have a word with'

Danny Murphy believes that Mo Salah’s Liverpool role may have to change.

The Reds suffered a 2-1 loss against Chelsea in the Premier League, condemning Arne Slot’s side to three successive defeats in all competitions. For consecutive top-flight games, Liverpool conceded deep into stoppage-time. Estevao Willian bagged for Chelsea at the back post in the 96th minute to deliver the home side all three points.

Estevao finished from Marc Cucurella’s cross, with the latter revealing that Chelsea targeted the Reds’ right flank because Salah is given more leeway to stay higher up the pitch when out of possession.

And Murphy reckons that is something that Slot may have to address because Florian Wirtz is now playing in the No.10 role and does not offer as much defensive protection as Dominik Szoboszlai offered last season.

Speaking on Premier League Productions, former Liverpool midfielder Murphy said: “There were tired legs at the end because of the end-to-end nature of the game. But the situation that kept arising down that left-hand side for Liverpool and Salah’s lack of tracking, it would be fascinating to sit down with Arne Slot and say: ‘How much freedom do you give him to not have to do that?’ Because at the moment, that system especially playing a No.10 and not having that extra midfielder in behind Salah is causing big problems.”

Ex-Arsenal striker Ian Wright believes that the Liverpool players will also be aware that - and that they may speak to Slot about the potential problem. Wright said: “The boys will know, the players will know at some stage that at some stages: ‘Listen, gaffer, you’re going to have to have a word because we’re getting dragged all over the place and if he’s not going to come back and help us, it’s going to cause us problems.”

Slot on Salah’s performance

Salah endured another frustrating evening and spurned two good chances for Liverpool in the second half. The winger has scored only two Premier League goals so far this season, having plundered 29 en route to the Reds winning the title last term.

Slot said on Salah’s performance: “What I like is that we brought him many times in the position he would like to be in and I would like him to be in, because he's shown in his career and since I'm here that in those positions he can score goals. And I think today he had many opportunities to do what he's done so often.

“But he is a human being and it's not like every chance he gets is always a goal – we feel sometimes it is because of what he's done last season and so many times. But he can also have a game where he has chances and a lot of times in promising positions and doesn't have a goal or an assist.