"It feels like Mohamed Salah's lack of defensive work has become a little problem for Liverpool, especially against the better teams. I can totally understand if Reds boss Arne Slot has told Salah not to track back, because waiting high up the pitch on the right for the transition has made him one of the most potent goalscorers in the world."
"But the players behind him are not covering him correctly and that has caused a lot of issues for whoever has been at right-back this season. Whether that's been Jeremie Frimpong, Conor Bradley or Dominik Szoboszlai, they are in trouble because they are facing a 2v1 overload down their side. It was a real weakness on Saturday, which led to Chelsea's winner - and the concern must be that more teams will be clever enough to do the same."
"First and foremost, I cannot believe Slot is telling Salah to track back and help out his right-back. If Salah was told to follow Chelsea's left-back Marc Cucurella, then it was extremely obvious he wasn't, and Slot would not put up with that. Instead, Slot is giving Salah the freedom to not do the defensive work, which is fine - there are lots of examples of other teams who have done similar, with players who want to save all their energy for attacking."
Mohamed Salah's limited defensive contribution has become a problem for Liverpool, particularly against stronger opponents. The manager appears to permit Salah to stay high on the right to maximize his attacking threat. Players behind Salah frequently fail to cover his zone, creating 2v1 overloads for whoever occupies right-back. Jeremie Frimpong, Conor Bradley and Dominik Szoboszlai have all been exposed by this imbalance. Opponents have exploited the weakness, with Chelsea's winner an example. Salah has the capacity to track back when instructed, as shown in Liverpool's win at Manchester City last season. The primary issue is the defensive setup behind Salah and the need for quicker, more effective support.
Read at www.bbc.com
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