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Liverpool are experiencing an incredible first season with Arne Slot at the helm.

The Reds are now on the brink of the Premier League title, sitting thirteen points clear with six games to go, and only six more points from their date with destiny, thanks to a late Virgil van Dijk winner against West Ham last weekend.

Although, they have not been at their free-flowing best in recent weeks and potential cracks have started to appear, which have subsequently led to calls for improvement ahead of next season.

We will be diving deeper into the flaws that Arne Slot’s team still need to iron out, in spite of their imminent league triumph.

RECRUITMENTLiverpool FC.

A lot has been made around Liverpool’s playing squad this season and a lack of signings during the last two transfer windows.

Upon Arne Slot’s arrival, he opted to make just one addition for the season ahead, capturing Federico Chiesa from Juventus whilst the £30million signing of Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili will come into the frame from July.

This was due to the Dutchman wanting to be given the chance to assess his options in the current playing squad before making any rash decisions on who stays, or who will potentially leave.

Now that his first season at Liverpool nears it’s close with the team in a very healthy position, it has been well-documented that the club are anticipating a ‘busy summer’, with Slot himself alongside skipper, Virgil van Dijk, making this very clear.

The Reds will have a number of targets in each position that they want to strengthen, whilst many are expected to depart.

Bournemouth duo, Milos Kerkez and Dean Huijsen are appreciated, whilst Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak are among options for a restructure of the attack.

Mohamed Salah’s lengthy contract saga is finally over after months of speculation, having renewed for two more years, confirmed last week and Virgil van Dijk looks set to follow imminently.

Liverpool announced Mohamed Salah’s two-year extension last Friday.

Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images.

In terms of potential outgoings, there seems to be a clear indication towards those not appearing to be part of Arne Slot’s plans beyond his first season.

These include Darwin Núñez, Caiomhin Kelleher, Luis Díaz, Jarell Quansah, Joe Gomez, Wataru Endo, Harvey Elliott and Kostas Tsimikas, but no concrete decisions have been made on their future.

Despite being on the brink of the Premier League, a overhaul of the Liverpool squad is still needed.

It seems likely that Mohamed Salah’s extension and Virgil van Dijk’s incoming announcement, will just be the beginning.

SQUAD ROTATION

Liverpool have one of the best squads in the Premier League, but not every player is lucky enough to be given sufficient playing time from the manager.

It has become apparent that Arne Slot likes a small squad and trusts only a select few on a match day, in his starting eleven or as an impact substitute.

But, this has come as a detriment towards Liverpool’s fight for several competitions.

The Reds now only have the Premier League to fight for, having lost the Carabao Cup Final in March alongside their UEFA Champions League and FA Cup exits, all in the space of two months.

As an example, Ryan Gravenberch has already played more than double of his minutes from the whole of last season and has effectively been run into the ground, now currently experiencing a drop-off in performance levels.

When speaking post Liverpool’s Carabao Cup Final defeat to Newcastle, Slot admitted that he made a mistake with the team selection, implying towards a lack of rotation following the Paris Saint-Germain defeat just a few days earlier.

Arne Slot’s stubbornness to rotate is something that needs to be be addressed, with the likes of Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott struggling for minutes.

DEFENSIVE STABILITY

Liverpool haven’t fluked their way to being thirteen points clear at the top of the Premier League by any means, but their defensive struggles have become clearer over the course of the campaign.

The Reds started this season with a plus-seven goal difference following the first three league matches, conceding zero and endured a run towards last December where their defence was rarely letting up, but since, clean sheets have been hard to come by.

In fact, Liverpool have kept just eight clean sheets in twenty-three matches since the turn of the year, whilst conceding sloppy goals in the process, and becoming ever so easy to create chances against.

In the last four Premier League matches, the Reds have conceded five goals from a combined total of ten big chances from each team and costly errors have crept into their game.

Their 3-2 defeat to Fulham was highlighted by three mistakes leading to goals scored by the home side, whilst a defensive mix-up between Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson was at the forefront of West Ham’s equaliser last Sunday.

Liverpool have lost their defensive stability and it is something that needs correcting if the Reds are to remain in the running for future trophies.

Attack wins games, defence wins titles.

SET-PIECES

Over the years, Liverpool have been commonly known for scoring from set-pieces and conceding very few, but there has been a u-turn of late.

Viirgil van Dijk’s corner header against West Ham tallied to just the third goal that Arne Slot’s side had scored from corners or free-kicks in the Premier League this season, highlighting a major cause for concern.

Virgil van Dijk shows his love towards the Liverpool supporters in West Ham celebration.

AFP via Getty Images.

This is the second-lowest across the remaining nineteen teams, only Fulham have scored less.

Liverpool have also struggled to defend their own box from dead-ball situations, leading to six goals conceded, ultimately proving costly in matches.

Earlier on in the season, the Reds were unable to see out a huge win away to Newcastle as Fabian Schar pounced on a rare error from Caoimhin Kelleher to score a last-gasp equaliser.

Slot’s side have also become culprits of set-piece goals conceded in important away matches against Arsenal, Everton and Aston Villa.

This may come as a surprise given the aerial threat that Liverpool are able to pose with players such as van Dijk and Konaté, but their dominance in this particular area has faded and needs to be found again.

THE PHYSICAL BATTLE

Liverpool have been known for their relentless pressing and strong presence when it comes to the physical battles, but have struggled to maintain the intensity for large parts at the end of matches this season.

Many will relate this to their advantage in the Premier League title-race and Arsenal not being able to put much pressure onto the Reds, but this is an issue that stems a lot deeper.

Liverpool had faced a noticeable decline in their ability to dominate their opponents during the second half of the campaign and this was highlighted the most during their Carabao Cup Final defeat to Newcastle, last month.

The performance level was labelled the worst under Arne Slot thus far and sent a strong message towards what not to do, for the remainder of the season.

The Reds have often been associated with their ability to suffocate teams in recent years, forcing them into mistakes, but their important battles and pressing numbers have decreased.

This could be down to a lack of fatigue, but remains a real problem that needs sorting for next season.

While Liverpool remain strong in other areas, their inability to win the physical battle has contributed to close matches throughout the campaign, often having to be won the hard way.

Arne Slot is less than twelve months into the Liverpool job and he was never going to have the perfect first season.

Given the pre-season predictions, it is truly remarkable that the Dutchman had the Reds in conversation for the Premier League title, never mind being two wins from winning the whole thing.

There remains telling weaknesses in this side that need rectifying as the look ahead to next season will shortly begin.

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