Arne Slot seeks solutions as Liverpool crisis deepens

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Liverpool manager Arne Slot applauds fans at Anfield after the Premier League loss to Manchester United.

REUTERS

LONDON – Liverpool’s blip is becoming a full-blown crisis as manager Arne Slot urgently seeks answers after the Premier League champions suffered a fourth straight defeat for the first time in more than a decade.

The Reds lost 2-1 to Manchester United on Sunday – the first time their bitter rivals have won at Anfield since January 2016.

Liverpool rode their luck in a seven-game winning run at the start of the season, boosted by a flurry of late goals, but an expected improvement in performances has failed to materialise.

They have now lost four consecutive games in all competitions for the first time since November 2014 when Brendan Rodgers was manager.

Ahead of their Champions League clash at Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday, here is a look at the serious issues that Slot must address to save Liverpool’s season.

Mohamed Salah looks a pale shadow of the man who terrorised defences last season on his way to winning the Premier League’s Golden Boot award.

The “Egyptian King”, so often the fulcrum of Liverpool’s attack, has scored just one goal from open play in the Premier League this season, on the opening weekend.

On Sunday he was guilty of missing two big chances against United.

The forward was left out of the starting line-up in the recent Champions League defeat at Galatasaray and, starkly, was hauled off on Sunday even as Liverpool chased an equaliser.

Slot will hope it is just a temporary loss for form for a