Why Salah has become a 'little problem' for Liverpool

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.

Yes, there are still certain times in a game where you are conceding chances and you are under pressure, where you might take responsibility yourself and just run back.

I know Salah can do it too, because when Liverpool won at Manchester City last season, his defensive performance was one of the best I've seen from him.

But he must have been asked to do it on that occasion, which is why I am not digging him out here if he has been asked to stay up the pitch.

The issue with Salah is more about how Liverpool are set up behind him, especially against the better teams.

The other players have to be able to help more, and quicker, because it felt like Chelsea were working the ball forwards and then shifting it out to their left, because that's where the space was.

If a Liverpool midfielder went out there too late - whether it be Ryan Gravenberch or Alexis Mac Allister - then he left space in the pockets in front of the defence because Liverpool were losing a man from the middle.

All this becomes less of a problem when you are playing teams where you dominate the ball - as we've seen, because Liverpool have won the league playing like this - but they have to tighten up because the top sides will exploit it.

It is not as if Salah has changed his role this season but, because he is not scoring at the other end, maybe the defensive side of his game is amplified.

I am not actually too worried about his form, because he will come good - he always does - in terms of his finishing.

He got in some great positions against Chelsea but maybe shot when he should have passed, and vice versa, but those chances will keep going and the goals will come.

My biggest concern with Liverpool at the moment is with their lack of control of games compared to last season.

It has been a disappointing week for them, of course, not only to lose three games in a row in the Premier League and Champions League but because the performance levels have not been what we expect.

There are mitigating factors, of course, with all the personnel changes in the summer and the number of players who missed pre-season, but last season Slot's Liverpool seemed to be so good at managing games and that is no longer the case.

It felt like their defensive shape was sound, and Slot's more possession-based style brought greater control.

It was something that people instantly saw that he had added to the team, compared to what it was like under Jurgen Klopp.

Now, however, I watch them and it looks a bit chaotic. The last half-hour of the Chelsea game was so frenetic it felt like a cup tie - they had opportunities to win it, but gave away plenty of chances too, which is why they ended up being beaten.

There are a few things that are not right about Liverpool, and I keep seeing them give the ball away, but I don't see this as an unresolvable situation.

Just because Liverpool have got some new players - and different types of players too - they don't need to change the way they play. They just need to get back to being a little bit more patient, and a little more composed.

The good news is they are only one point behind leaders Arsenal and have time to fix the things that are going wrong.

The physical aspect they are missing will come because the players who did not have a proper pre-season, like Alexander Isak, Mac Allister, Bradley and Hugo Ekitike, will reach peak fitness soon.

Building proper relationships on the pitch always takes time too, whether it be between the right-back and Salah or Florian Wirtz and Isak.

So, there is no need to panic. It feels like at the moment in the Premier League, and not just with Liverpool but with all teams, you are only one week away from 'catastrophe' and criticism.

The reality is what has happened to Liverpool this week will probably happen at some point to Arsenal and Manchester City this season too.

I didn't actually think City would be in the title race, but if Erling Haaland stays this hungry and remains fit they will be.

Arsenal, defensively, look superb again and, overall, after seven games they appear very comfortable in what they are doing everywhere on the pitch - it looks like a continuation of last season, with a sprinkling of extra quality and depth.

With Liverpool it feels like more of rebuild right now. But while there is still work to do for them to find the right balance and combinations, I think everyone is expecting them to improve as the season goes on.

Danny Murphy was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.