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Liverpool legend Graeme Souness says Arne Slot needs to fix his midfield to get back on track this season, with the Reds putting in another worrying performance against Nottingham Forest at the weekend.
So far in this campaign, Liverpool has yet to come from behind to earn any points in the Premier League. While the Reds are only two points off the Champions League spots, they are on track to let in 63 goals across the 38-game season at the current rate of conceding.
Souness, though, says that defensive weakness starts in the center of the pitch, where things are far too open. Gaps open up, and Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk are then left with too much work to do.
"When your team are conceding goals, you automatically look at goalkeepers and your back four," Souness told the Liverpool ECHO.
"I was at the Community Shield at Wembley, the first day of the season, when they played Crystal Palace, and for me, they weren’t right in midfield.
"People are saying that Dominik Szoboszlai has had a great start to the season — with the ball, yes. But without the ball, I’m not sure with the transitions.
"Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch are good at that — in those three midfield players, you have experience in winning the Premier League. Then you try and introduce Florian Wirtz into that, and I think he’s playing catch-up."
Szoboszlai has been Liverpool's best player this season, but he was moved to full-back on Saturday because of injuries to Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong.
Mac Allister and Gravenberch have had good games in the last few weeks, but neither has consistently hit the heights of last season. Wirtz, now injured, is still adapting to the English league.
"We are trying to find consistency, but we concede far too many goals to even speak about it at the moment," Van Dijk told reporters at Anfield.
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"We had a good couple of days of sessions and good meetings. But at the end of the day, it is about what you show on the pitch. We conceded, and then we weren't good for 15 minutes.
"The second half started, and then we are 2-0 down. It is obviously a completely different ballgame. We played against Nottingham Forest, who was winning physical battles against us."
Liverpool has PSV next in the Champions League. It then plays West Ham, Sunderland, and Leeds in the space of a week, where a string of victories would completely change the mood.
Liverpool.com says: Slot has several fires to put out at the moment. No part of the team is working optimally, but only one part needs to improve for that to have a knock-on effect.
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