Slot in need of a FULL reset

BOSS HAS TO USE BREAK TO WORK OUT THE CONNECTIONS

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A CHASTENING week of three successive defeats has left Arne Slot heading into the international break in his worst run as Liverpool boss.

Successive 2-1 reverses at Crystal Palace and Chelsea came either side of a 1-0 defeat to Galatasaray in the Champions League last Tuesday to leave Slot now officially stuck in his worst patch of results since he took over from Jurgen Klopp at the start of last season.

The Premier League champions head into the break in second, a point behind new leaders Arsenal and host historic rivals Manchester United in their next assignment on October 19.

Here, the ECHO assesses what is going wrong and what can be done to arrest an early-season blip.

Settle on fullbacks

Having spent close to £70million on the arrivals of two fullbacks in Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, it's been a summer of change in those defensive positions for Slot.

The departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid at the start of June, and the increased competition for Andy Robertson and Conor Bradley means Slot has a new-look fullback team to choose from this term.

So far, though, it’s fair to say the Dutchman is working out what his best combination is.

In the battle on the left side of the pitch, it is Kerkez who has nudged ahead of Robertson, with the young Hungarian starting all seven fixtures so far.

Kerkez, though, is enduring a tough time. Hooked before halftime at Burnley when on a yellow card for a blatant dive, the former Bournemouth man is learning on the job about the huge increase in expectations and demands at a club the size of Liverpool.

Subbed off for the long-serving Robertson at Chelsea on Saturday, the Scotland captain helped inject some impetus into proceedings as the visitors improved after the break.

However, questions were asked of the 31-year-old, who allowed Estevao Willian to sneak in to score a stoppage-time winner.