Liverpool fell to their third defeat in four matches on Sunday after throwing away a lead against Fulham.

The Reds are in a brilliant position in the Premier League and know four wins from their last seven games will deliver them the title.

However, things have been starting to creak since March, with Liverpool looking a shadow of the team which romped to the top of the Premier League table.

For Arne Slot, there is plenty to ponder going into the final stretch of what has been a terrific opening season at Liverpool.

Liverpool fans are all making the same point about Alexis Mac Allister after his ‘unreal’ goal vs Fulham	How soon can Liverpool win the Premier League title?	How soon can Liverpool clinch the Premier League title after Fulham setback?

In the bigger picture, things are still rosy at Anfield, but there is little question that performances – and even results lately – have started to become worrying.

Part of the problem is that the Liverpool squad simply look tired after going again and again all season.

And despite another sluggish display against Everton in midweek, Slot once again offered little rotation at Fulham.

Photo by Harry Murphy – Danehouse/Getty Images

There was only one change from Liverpool’s team that played Everton and the one which took to the field against Fulham.

Even in itself, that was a slightly baffling switch, with Cody Gakpo coming in for Luis Diaz, who put in one of his best performances of the season in the Merseyside Derby.

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Otherwise Liverpool were unchanged.

And having looked lethargic against Southampton, PSG, Newcastle and Everton, it was little surprise to see the XI on the pitch soon fall limply behind.

It was only when the substitutes finally came on that Liverpool looked to have any kind of hope of snatching something.

READ MORE: Liverpool players told to start ‘looking over their shoulders’ after lacklustre Fulham defeat

Conor Bradley was fantastic, while Diaz, Harvey Elliott and – belatedly – Federico Chiesa all offered more than their starting counterparts.

But no matter how well the substitutes played from the bench, we have seen this script before.

Slot will not reward them with a start against West Ham.

If Liverpool had a fixture coming this midweek, perhaps Slot would rip up his rule book and start an Elliott or a Chiesa.

However, with Liverpool having to wait a full week before facing West Ham next Sunday, it seems virtually impossible that he will change things up.

With plenty of time to rest his weary starting XI, the Liverpool head coach will surely see the only solution as playing them yet again.

In our opinion this is a real mistake from Slot, probably the only one he has consistently made all season.

Elliott, Chiesa, Bradley and even Wataru Endo have all deserved far more playing time than they’ve been given this term.
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