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Former Liverpool player Dietmar Hamann believes Liverpool felt the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold during Friday's victory over Bournemouth.
Alexander-Arnold departed Liverpool following the Reds' title win last season, joining Real Madrid for a small transfer fee ahead of the expiration of his contract on June 30.
Liverpool replaced Alexander-Arnold with Jeremie Frimpong, and the Netherlands international made his Premier League debut against the Cherries.
While Liverpool eventually ran out a 4-2 victor on the night, some aspects of the teams performance were not up to scratch, and the team generally struggled to exert control on the game.
Hamann believes the departure of Alexander-Arnold has played a part in Liverpool's issues at the start of the season, with the team having conceded four goals in its opening two games of the campaign.
"If you look at the 90 minutes [against Bournemouth], I never felt Liverpool was in total control of the game," Hamann told talkSPORT. "Last season, it was something that Arne Slot was really good at.
"If you don't control games without the ball, it makes it very hard to control it when you do get the ball.
"Liverpool has been pretty fragile defensively in the two games so far, including against Palace and Kerkez has struggled in both games and Frimpong, for all his power and pace going forward, is not a right back.
"This is something Liverpool must address because without Trent in the team, the dynamics have changed.
"Last season, Liverpool tired teams out when it had the ball and in Trent had one of the best ball players in the Premier League. If he had a bit of space, teams would drop off because they were scared of his passing ability and it stretched the pitch. That gave the rest of the team a bit more space when they got on it.
"Liverpool won't have that this season because Frimpong is a completely different player."
Hamann's criticism of Liverpool's performance came after Jamie Carragher also questioned the team. "I've watched enough football in my life," Carragher said on Sky Sports. "This idea that everyone bombs forward, it's not for me. I don't like it.
"There is definitely a problem that Arne Slot has to solve. People say 'they need a centre-back'. A centre-back doesn't fix that. He just takes Konate's place.
"It's about the make-up of the team with two attacking full-backs and a number ten who more interested in getting on the ball than defending like Szoboszlai was last season. If Liverpool continue like that, I don't think they will win the league."
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