Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool
Well this was pretty depressing.
A third defeat in a row is difficult to take.
I will probably talk about the issues with the team more than the match itself.
One thing that is standing out for me is our problems at full back and the form of Konate.
I know there are a lot of other problems centred around picking the best line up with the change in personnel, but titles are won with great defences.
I have previously touched on the form of Kerkez and Konate and now it's appearing right back is also becoming an issue. The boy has been great for us overall but on Saturday I think Conor Bradley didn't look good enough for this team.
I do still believe this team has a winning mentality but I feel our defence and the process of trying to find the best tactical setup is now holding us back from fulfilling our potential.
I feel we should persist with Frimpong at right back but Kerkez is looking like he's struggling with the pressure of playing for a big club. Whether we bring Robertson in for a while I don't know because he's become prone to giving fouls away in dangerous areas but his experience may be invaluable to get us back on track.
I don't know how we can fix the form of Konate. I think this is due to his contract situation but we can't afford to carry on with his indifferent form.
I think it's clear now why we wanted Gueye so much and how disappointed the club were when we didn't sign him. It's unusual for a club to make a statement after failing to sign a player but the fact we did shows how much the club felt we needed him.
This gives me confidence in that the club knows what we need to progress but the fact we didn't move for Gueye earlier is coming back to bite us.
So we have to work with what we've got and I think we need to shore up our defence as much as possible. I think that may mean playing far more cautious in general like we did last season and using the counter attack more.
I also think Curtis Jones deserves a run in the team if Mac Allister continues to have a dip in form compared to last season.
Isak flick
How beautiful was this flick to set up Gakpo to equalise? I could watch this over and over. I guess we have to take a positive from the game.
Giorgi Mamardashvili
Another positive for me was an assured display from our new goalkeeper in a very difficult game.
I have praised Slot for his substitutions this season but I do feel in this game Gakpo should have come off with 15-20 minutes to go because he started to look out of sorts and Chiesa was available on the bench.
I don't know why Slot left Gakpo on but I think it was a mistake.
Let's hope the international break will give Slot enough thinking time to come up with a solution going forward but with so many big signings and trying to use them all the best he can I think we are going to have to have some patience.
Personally I would love to see Isak, Ekitike and Wirtz as a front three with all of them allowed in interchange positions. This would truly disrupt the opposition defence.
Salah has had a dip in form and no player should be given first team status for nothing.
Chelsea deserved to win this game but they will be thankful we are a team in transition.
Highlights below.
