Mohamed Salah‘s role in the Liverpool setup this season has prompted concern from supporters – and Arne Slot may need a new Plan A when it comes to the Egyptian.

There’s no way to guarantee winning a football match.

It doesn’t matter what you won last year, what you spend in the market or how many subs you can make. All a manager can do is make a judgement call, to weigh the risk versus the reward and then act accordingly.

Arne Slot has had a lot of tools to work with since joining Liverpool, but he’s also got a lot of his calls right.

Now he’s lost three matches in a row for the first time ever, he has more calls to make.

Part of Slot’s successful takeover from Jurgen Klopp was down to the overlap in their styles. But while Slot is happy to press aggressively, he prefers to have a plus-one in his back line.

If he’s playing against a lone striker, he wants two defenders back, and if it’s a strike partnership he wants three in the last line.

To achieve this, Liverpool press in a 4-2-4 shape but with fewer players committed to the...