Liverpool s losing streak stems from the structural loopholes being seen through, and the forward potential can be tapped.

After suffering four consecutive defeats in the Premier League, Liverpool has reached a fork in the road. The team's forward line has great potential to be tapped, but the team currently lacks central midfielders. At the same time, Van Dijk's decline has allowed the opponent to try more long passes to attack Liverpool's backcourt, which has found Slott's Achilles' heel.

In particular, this trick is exactly what Premier League teams are best at, and it also makes it impossible for Liverpool's problems to be concealed in the league. Perhaps Slott should consider retracting the overall formation a little further, so as to have the opportunity to use strengths and avoid weaknesses and release the potential of the forward.

It can be seen from the statistics that Liverpool was attacked by opponents with 571 long passes in 9 Premier League games in the new season, which is the most among all teams.

Even second-placed Bournemouth has almost 50 fewer games than Liverpool, and fourth-placed Manchester City has nearly 100 fewer games than Liverpool.

In the past, when Liverpool faced such a situation, Van Dijk alone supported the air defense. Because of his superb heading ability and control surface, Liverpool dared to spread out their formation and have air-to-air dialogue with their Premier League opponents.

The problem is that Van Dijk's efficiency in this area has dropped significantly this season. Even if the statistics show that he won 46 one-on-one shots out of 59 times with a success rate of 78%, his actual control over the landing point is not as good as before.

Even if the ball is pushed out, it cannot be guaranteed to fall within the control of teammates, leading to a greater crisis later. Because Van Dijk's turn is slowing down, his ability to recover is also being lost.

In the match between Liverpool and Manchester United, the opponent's first goal was a reflection of Van Dijk's problem. At that time, Van Dijk's first header was not cleared cleanly and was directly turned back by the opponent.

Mbemo simply pushed forward easily from Van Dijk, and Van Dijk used a "hospitality" rhythm to watch the opponent enter the penalty area and score a goal. This is also Van Dijk's biggest problem at the moment. If he steps forward to compete for a header, he will not be able to come back once he is attacked twice by the opponent.

However, this Liverpool forward line actually has a lot of room for improvement. On the one hand, forwards Isaac and Ekitic have the ability to pull wide at any time. On the other hand, Gakpo can also hold the ball and cut inside to launch attacks at any time after the center pulls wide.

In particular, the transition speed between offense and defense is very fast. The team can pass long-distance passes to the frontcourt. The forwards can catch the ball and can instantly penetrate into the opponent's core area.

Just like this attack, after Ekitic got the ball from the wing, he took the ball in stride, cut inside and shot directly. Although this is not reasonable and a bit greedy, continuing to pass the ball would be a better choice.

But at least the front line has enough speed-up ability. Once Liverpool straightens it out, it can make a sharp transition between offense and defense.

The same principle applies this time. Isaac started on the wing and was surrounded by Chelsea players before passing to Gakpo. The latter accelerated and penetrated Chelsea's flank. Unfortunately, Szoboszlai failed to seize the opportunity in the middle.

However, Liverpool's forward line can bring about many tactical changes, and midfielders can also get opportunities when they move forward. The key is that the midfielder must have enough running and up-and-down abilities to take into account Van Dijk's aging and the frequency of the forwards playing wide.

Although they have encountered a lot of troubles and challenges, Liverpool's future development prospects can still be optimistic. Salah will slowly fade out of the starting lineup, and Van Dijk's successor must also be put on the agenda.

It would be a wise decision to buy a central defender first in the winter window. The rest depends on how the frontcourt staff combines it. If Slott can't do it, then replace him with a leader who can do it.