1 week ago
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Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch says Arne Slot will soon find the right balance with his side — with the Reds very much still in the conversation for both the Premier League and the Champions League.
Earlier this week, Slot's changes paid off in a 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. Next up, Liverpool travels to Brentford hoping to end its Premier League losing streak, which currently stands at three games.
"It just needs a bit of cohesion," Crouch said. "It's Arne Slot's first test. They won 5-1 the other night (vs Eintracht Frankfurt) and (Florian) Wirtz got a few assists, but he was playing against a German side.
"I think the new signings need more time to integrate, but once they do, Liverpool will be frightening. At the moment, it just looks a little bit unbalanced."
Liverpool spent big in the summer and brought in some huge names, but Hugo Ekitike is the only one to really hit the ground running. Wirtz has shown glimpses, while Alexander Isak is still building up full match sharpness and is now injured.
In terms of the system, the arrival of Wirtz has changed the emphasis somewhat, but Crouch believes it is only a matter of time before it all clicks.
"The balance is off," the former Liverpool striker, speaking to Paddy Power, continued. "They've always had three workman-like midfielders in central midfield, and having Wirtz has upset the balance a little bit.
"Add to that as well the flying full-backs, and it's definitely isolated Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.
"Slot also doesn't know who his best right back is yet. Sometimes it's Conor Bradley, Jeremie Frimpong, or even Dominik Szoboszlai in there...
"The full-backs are so important for Liverpool, especially over the course of Klopp's reign and then again last year.
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"Losing Trent Alexander-Arnold and dropping Andy Robertson is a big thing. He's (Slot) brought Frimpong and Milos Kerkez in and it hasn't quite been settled yet...
"But I don't think they'll be revising expectations. They're still more than capable of winning the Premier League and Champions League in my mind."
Liverpool.com says: In time, the players in the Reds' attack are too good not to do well for Slot. Wirtz, hopefully, will have a bit more confidence after his midweek assists, while there is a big decision to make on Mohamed Salah for this weekend.
It would be a surprise if his name wasn't in the starting XI at Brentford, but a statement performance would be timely.
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