Arne Slot could ruthlessly drop ‘smart footballer’ from his Liverpool lineup vs Galatasaray
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The Egyptian has looked a shadow of himself compared to the player who managed 34 goals and 23 assists in all competitions last season.Ibrahima Konate’s form this season is also a major worry, especially given links to Real Madrid, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season.Credit: ImagoArne Slot could drop Alexis Mac Allister for Galatasaray clashAlthough he didn’t have a terrible game, Alexis Mac Allister seemed void of ideas and slow on the ball. His fitness this season is turning into a major problem, and Liverpool need to get to the bottom of it.Speaking to the media before the Palace game, Arne Slot hinted that Mac Allister is not ready to play multiple games a week.
MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES “He doesn’t have to recover from last season; we need to build him after having such a poor pre-season,” Slot said at his pre-Palace press conference.“He missed out two or three months and the first few weeks of pre-season. To be fair, we were all expecting him to start the first day of pre-season; that’s why we took him out in the end [of the season], to have him ready for the first day of pre-season.”Slot needs to simplify his tactical approachAfter the excitement of the summer transfer window, Slot now has several world-class players across his team.
Last season, Roy Keane described him as a “smart footballer” on Sky Sports, but until he can cope with the pace of the game, he needs to be protected against suffering a serious injury.Credit: ImagoIt’s borderline impossible to fit Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz and Mohamed Salah into the same lineup without compromising the fluidity of a team that won the Premier League last season.Wayne Rooney argues that Florian Wirtz upsets Liverpool’s balance, but this is only the case if Slot constantly changes his role within the team. Wirtz will find his feet, but there’s a lot he needs to adjust to first.If Mac Allister is going to be dropped against Galatasaray, Wirtz should start, but the four midfielders that began the clash at Palace cannot start together again unless Slot alters his approach entirely.Liverpool, despite their strong start to the season on paper, have a lot of work to do to figure out how so many top players are going to play together moving forward.