Arne Slot was offered more food for thought over the right-back situation at Liverpool as his team lost to a last-second goal away at Chelsea.
After two consecutive defeats, the Reds looked like they had battled back to earn a point at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, but a late sucker-punch from teenager Estevao Willian saw Liverpool slump to a third loss in a row.
Throughout the season so far, one of the biggest issues for Slot and Liverpool has been a lack of consistency at right-back.
Following Trent Alexander-Arnold’s acrimonious departure, the Reds brought in Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen over the summer, with the Dutchman expected to rotate with Conor Bradley for a starting spot.
While that is exactly what has happened, with a bit of Dominik Szoboszlai thrown into the mix as well, the failure of either Frimpong or Bradley to cement themselves as the rightful first choice is harming Liverpool.
According to former captain Jamie Redknapp, Slot must now hand the keys to one of his options and stick with him.
Conor Bradley backed for full-time right-back position
On Saturday, Slot chose to play Bradley on the right of the defence. The Northern Irishman does appear to be the first choice when possible.
However, the 22-year-old struggled against the pace of Alejandro Garnacho, eventually being booked for a silly foul.
READ MORE: Liverpool fans must focus on two real positives against Chelsea despite heart-breaking defeat
With Bradley walking a tightrope, Slot took him off at half-time, pushing Szoboszlai back and bringing Florian Wirtz into midfield. It was another bad moment for Bradley.
But speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Redknapp said he hoped to see the Northern Irishman cement himself as number one.
“I really want to see Conor as that out-and-out right-back,” said the pundit. “He’s obviously had injuries, it hasn’t been easy for him.
“Frimpong played in a back three for Leverkusen, he wasn’t an out and out right-back and you can see the way Liverpool play, he’s struggled so far this season, it hasn’t been easy for him. Then you go with Szoboszlai who’s arguably been the best of them all, but I still don’t think that is the answer.”
Liverpool told they are missing Trent Alexander-Arnold
Because of the strength of ill-feeling towards him at Anfield, many Liverpool fans perhaps ignored how vital Alexander-Arnold has been to the team.
For the past seven or eight years, Liverpool have known that the Scouser would be at right-back on pretty much any given matchday. With that thrown out, it was always likely to be a difficult moment.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  ArsenalArsenal | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 16 |
| 2 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 15 |
| 3 |  TottenhamTottenham | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 14 |
Injuries have disrupted things, with both Bradley and Frimpong struggling. But regardless of who plays, Redknapp thinks Liverpool will continue to miss Alexander-Arnold.
“What Liverpool will have looked at, when you lose Trent who is irreplaceable, who is out there?” he questioned.
“There are not many right-backs who are easy to buy. There are centre-backs who play right-back, Hakimi would be the best of the bunch but he’s obviously not going to leave where he is. There’s not many right-backs out there, it’s a very difficult position to trade.”
“They’ve got problems at full-back, it’s apparent. They’re missing Trent.”
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