6 days ago
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Manchester United icon Paul Scholes has pinpointed the 'big miss' that has sparked Liverpool's alarming decline. The Merseyside giants have endured four straight Premier League defeats whilst managing just one victory from their previous six outings across all competitions.
Arne Slot had hoped that last Wednesday's commanding 5-1 triumph over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League would provide the catalyst for a turnaround. However, Liverpool's momentum was swiftly punctured at Brentford on Saturday, as the Reds succumbed to a disappointing 3-2 reverse.
Following Arsenal's victory against Crystal Palace on Sunday, Liverpool now trail the league leaders by seven points, despite defeating them 1-0 back in August to secure pole position.
The landscape has shifted dramatically since then, though, and Scholes believes that the absence of one particular player has proved pivotal during Liverpool's torrid spell.
Alisson Becker has been sidelined through injury since last month's 1-0 reverse away to Galatasaray, during which he damaged his hip.
The goalkeeper rescued Liverpool on numerous occasions during the early stages of the campaign, but his deputy Giorgi Mamardashvili has been unable to produce similar match-winning interventions. Alisson is anticipated to remain unavailable until late November, presenting the Reds with a 'big' dilemma.
"There's something not right there (at Liverpool)," Scholes remarked on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast. "When you've got a good team, you try and strengthen it. When you win a league, you try and bring in players. For some reason, it's just not happening.
"I think the goalkeeper is a big miss. We've seen how important 'keepers are becoming, definitely, and Alisson's a big miss. I'm not saying this 'keeper is playing badly, but it seems like every shot is going in. It's not a good trait."
Mamardashvili is expected to feature in Wednesday's Carabao Cup encounter at home to Palace, though he isn't the sole worry. Milos Kerkez has struggled to impress whilst his defensive colleagues, Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk, have also appeared vulnerable.
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"He (Kerkez) has struggled and I think both centre-backs have," Scholes added. "I thought Konate was brilliant against Manchester United and then on Saturday night, when he's running back against that lad (Kevin Schade), I was thinking, 'He'll catch him him, he'll get him!' and he almost gave up.
"It's like they've almost lost the determination to stop goals going in. I think they will always score goals with the quality they've got and, look, it's still early in the season.
"But losing four league games already, teams don't really do that and win the league anymore. You're talking two or three games."
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