Why the solution to Liverpool’s problems could be bad news for Florian Wirtz

A couple of seconds before Morgan Rogers hit the post, as Liverpool were inches from conceding first in an eighth consecutive game and in the opening 10 minutes for a fourth time in that period, a pained voice in the Anfield stands cried: “Where’s the midfield?” One pass had taken Dominik Szoboszlai out of the game. Liverpool looked far too open.

Some 90 minutes later, anguished of Anfield had his answer. There was his midfield. It was Arne Slot ’s midfield, too, his title-winning trio. Time after time in recent weeks, Slot has tried to revert to the trio of Ryan Gravenberch , Alexis Mac Allister and Szoboszlai, though his plans have sometimes been interrupted by injury. They can seem Slot’s comfort blanket.

When they most needed a reassuring warmth, they got it from the tried and trusted. Saturday’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa was arguably the first time they had all played well this season. Gravenberch’s form has usually been good, but he missed two games at the start and three more recently; in his comeback, he earned praise from Steven Gerrard. Were the season to be curtailed now, Szoboszlai would be the favourite to be anointed Liverpool’s player of the year, though partly for his efforts at right-back. Mac Allister, who missed much of pre-season, had not played 90 minutes for his club or looked in the condition to do so. Slot had tended to pick him, perhaps in an attempt to rewind to last season. Finally, the Argentinian looked his old self. The unit gelled again.

All of which felt like bad news for Florian Wirtz . This was a fourth major Premier League match which the German began on the bench, after the Merseyside derby, the trip to Chelsea and the visit of Manchester United. In each, Slot has preferred his title-winning trio.

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It was a compliment to Liverpool to say they looked more like their old selves on Saturday. It was also literally true. Apart from the weakened and youthful team that faced Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup, it was the first time Slot’s outfield 10 starters included a lone summer signing: Hugo Ekitike, the most impressive of the expensive influx. Giorgi Mamardashvili also played, and played well, in goal, but there is no doubt Alisson figures in Slot’s strongest side.

So, at the moment, Liverpool’s £450m has arguably bought them one addition to their preferred side: Ekitike, taking over from Luis Diaz or the late Diogo Jota. It automatically poses questions about their two record signings. Wirtz was a conspicuous absentee from Saturday’s starting 11 and if there was a theory that there was one spot left in the side for a luxury player, Mohamed Salah underlined why he can merit a bit more freedom. He looked the Salah of old.

Alexander Isak’s groin injury may at least have spared Slot an awkward decision for a while. Even if the £125m man is available again, the Dutchman can argue he is being understandably cautious if he benches the Swede against Real Madrid and Manchester City. It would nevertheless mean that, three months into Liverpool’s season, they have barely made any progress in integrating their arrivals into their first-choice team.

But a run of six defeats in seven games meant Liverpool simply needed to find a way to win. Slot argued he was not going to compromise his principles; for him, going back to basics did not entail packing the defence, playing behind the ball, using a lower block.

He did, however, use the two more defensively-solid of his specialist full-backs. If one of the ways Liverpool had lost their stability this season was by adding Wirtz, another was by buying two such attacking full-backs. With Jeremie Frimpong injured – and, it seems, scarcely trusted by Slot anyway – he was not in contention. But the manager had seemed to have a stubborn faith in Milos Kerkez. Saturday brought Andy Robertson’s belated first league start of the season.

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The Scot was not spectacular but he ensured Villa threatened little on their right flank. It was a quiet advertisement for the merits of a steady, seven-out-of-10 performance. Liverpool have had too few of them this season. On the right, Conor Bradley, like Mac Allister, delivered perhaps his best display of the campaign. Once again, it was in a framework. “We worked very hard in defending as a team: guys up front, midfield, back line, goalie,” said Virgil van Dijk. “Everyone was fighting hard to get it over the line,” said Slot.

They did. It may prove a turning point but, while Liverpool revisited to their past, there are also warnings from history. In their troubled 2022-23 season, there were times when Jurgen Klopp addressed a slump, seemed to find a formula and got a result. Usually, that new blueprint did not survive for long. Now the circumstances have changed. Wirtz and Isak, and to a lesser extent Frimpong and Kerkez, present Slot with dilemmas. But a year ago, they beat Real and City in a week. And now, in the hope of a repeat, Slot has returned to last season’s players.