Wayne Rooney suggests tactical reason why Mohamed Salah is struggling to score for Liverpool this season

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It has been a difficult start to the season for Liverpool and Mohamed Salah.The Reds have just lost their third game in a row in all competitions, this time against Chelsea, who won through a Moises Caicedo outside the box strike and an Estevao Willian late winner.Cody Gakpo was the only Liverpool player on the scoresheet in their 2-1 loss, as Salah has gone four consecutive games without scoring a goal for the club.It is unusual form for the Egyptian international, but the issues do not only lie with him, as the rest of the team are also struggling to be a cohesive unit, as they were for much of last season.This drop in form seems inexplicable on paper; however, when you watch this group of players, they are a shell of their former consistent and fluid selves, giving the ball away on too many occasions.Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty ImagesWayne Rooney says Liverpool midfield has affected Mohamed Salah’s performancesArne Slot’s choices for his team have been questioned due to many either playing out of position from the start or being moved around during the game to try and reverse the poor display.However, this idea cannot continue due to the fact that he has tried this tactic in the past three games, and it has not worked, as the opposition are finding it too easy to play around them.One of the main areas where this can be seen, and where Wayne Rooney believes it has created a problem for Salah, is the structure of the midfield.READ MORE: Alexander Isak explains the feeling inside Liverpool’s dressing room after three damaging defeatsYesterday was one of the first times that the midfield three from last season started the game, but it proved that it was not the same as it once was.When speaking on Match of the Day, Rooney explained why this tweak in the middle of the park has affected Salah and his output drastically.He said: “I think last season they were consistent in the team, they were consistent in the midfield, they had the three in midfield, and they were very difficult to play against, and that midfield shuffled across and helped Salah out a lot.“Where this season they have played with two in midfield, they have had Wirtz in front of that. And today was the first time they went back to a three, so maybe it has been a bit unfamiliar for the midfield this season, and it has taken them a bit more time than they thought to fix that.”Liverpool’s lack of a consistent midfield has been a detriment to the teamThere are issues in each position, especially the defence, although now the midfield is becoming more of an issue as they are not influencing or controlling the game.Gone are the three men in the middle whose press used to catch teams out and let this Liverpool team show their quality on the break.Now it is replaced with a chopped and changed three, with a lack of identity that gives the ball away consistently.What has not helped is the fact that they have had to cover in other positions, like Dominik Szoboszlai moving to right-back.It cannot continue to be like this because this team won’t be able to go any further than where they are now.Drastic changes have to be made, and clearly, the passing and pressing needs to be worked on; otherwise, the issues with this side’s creativity will continue to haunt them.