Netherlands 4-0 mauling gives Slot two ideas for Liverpool changes – both involve Salah

The Netherlands’ 4-0 pumping of Malta – in which over a third of the starting eleven contained Liverpool players – could give Arne Slot two ideas for changes.

Liverpool’s squad contained a healthy contingent of Dutch stars before Arne Slot arrived and the addition of Jeremie Frimpong swelled the ranks even further.

Frimpong, along with Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo all started for the Netherlands as they dismantled Malta 4-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday night.

All of that quartet aside from Frimpong have been regular starters for Liverpool this season. After a blistering start to the season – where a touch of good fortune was involved – the Reds have come crashing back down to earth.

Slot’s side have lost three on the spin and the late goals that played in their favour in the early going are now working against them.

Slot has looked unusually devoid of ideas on how to change the course of a game mid-match. His magic touch with substitutions has deserted him and with Arsenal soaring, Liverpool must quickly arrest their woes or run the risk of the Premier League being beyond them.

Adding to Liverpool’s dilemma is the chronically off-form Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian has started the new campaign in sluggish fashion and the winger will be absent around the turn of the year while with Egypt at AFCON.

The dilemma of who to deploy on the right side in Salah’s international absence is one Liverpool are familiar with. In the past, the Reds sometimes deployed Diogo Jota on the flank or shifted Luis Diaz to the right. Of course, neither of those options are in play any longer.

One solution could come in the form of positioning Frimpong in a more advanced right winger role. It’s something he’s familiar with from his time at Bayer Leverkusen and against Malta on Thursday night, Frimpong played in the front three.

Frimpong’s electric pace gives him every opportunity to beat his marker in one-v-one opportunities, as evidenced by his six successful dribbles from seven attempts in the contest.

Whether Frimpong can then find the killer final boss or score himself remains to be seen. He is a defender, after all, and end product isn’t a given.

He did put up gawdy numbers from an attacking standpoint at Leverkusen, though against comparatively much weaker defences than those he’ll face in the Premier League.

Frimpong was positioned on the right wing in Liverpool’s Champions League defeat to Galatasaray. Again, he repeatedly beat his man with deadly bursts of acceleration before ultimately failing to provide for his fellow frontmen.

But Liverpool’s hand will be forced when AFCON rolls around and with Salah now deep into his thirties anyway, deploying Frimpong further forward and giving Salah an occasional rest is something Slot must consider.

The last thing Liverpool need is Salah having a down year, as opposed to just a down couple of months.

Netherlands game highlights second potential change

Another change relating to Salah concerns the penalty-taking duties.

Salah has been Liverpool’s designated spot-kick taker for many a year despite a somewhat patchy record of late.

His tally for club and country stands at 65 penalties taken, 54 scored, 11 missed. That equates to a superb conversion rate of 83 percent, though four of those misses have come in the last two years.

Against Malta, the Netherlands were awarded two penalties, both of which were converted by Cody Gakpo.

The winger’s penalty-taking record across his career now stands at eight scored and one missed. The solitary miss came all the way back in the 2021/22 campaign.

Alexis Mac Allister, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak all took penalties at former clubs Brighton, Bayer Leverkusen and Newcastle respectively.

But if recent history with the Netherlands is anything to go by, it could be Gakpo who assumes the mantle when Salah is out of the team.

Latest Liverpool news – Upamecano confirmation / Salah struggles explained

In other news, TEAMtalk has been informed Liverpool now view Dayot Upamecano as their ‘prime’ alternative to Marc Guehi.

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