Liverpool have a defensive problem - again! Familiar vulnerabilities threaten to derail Arne Slot's dream season as Ibrahima Konate and Andrew Robertson struggles highlight Reds' biggest transfer needs

When Liverpool last visited Nottingham on March 2, Darwin Nunez nodded in a 99th-minute winner that sent Klopp's men four points clear at the top of the Premier League. At the time, it was unthinkable that the Reds would end up finishing a distant third in the table.

Fatigue was the major factor in Liverpool running out of steam down the home straight, as injuries eventually took their toll on an over-achieving squad. However, their brittle backline was also brutally exposed during the business end of the 2023-24 season. Liverpool didn't manage another clean sheet after their City Ground shutout until the final day of the campaign, against Wolves - by which time their title challenge had long since gone up in smoke.

For all of the excitement surrounding Jarell Quansah's emergence as a legitimate contender to start alongside Virgil van Dijk, which Klopp quipped saved the club millions, the Reds were ultimately left counting the cost of failing to adequately strengthen their defence. There's now a real risk of history repeating itself.

Liverpool didn't just fail to sign a defensive midfielder during the summer, they also inexplicably neglected to bring in a new centre-back (despite being once again linked with a plethora of players). They've been so fortunate that Slot has managed to solve the former problem by transforming Ryan Gravenberch into a stellar No.6, but hope that he could also find an in-house answer to the longstanding problem at the heart of the defence is fading fast.

Ibrahima Konate was fantastic during the opening three months of the season, forming a formidable partnership with Van Dijk after coming into the team at half-time in the opening-day win at Ipswich. However, the Frenchman's form and fitness have once again become causes for concern.

After missing all of December's league games with a knee injury, Konate has been shaky and sluggish since returning to action in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United on January 5, when he appeared to be running in quicksand as he tried - and failed - to cut out the cut-back that led to Amad Diallo's equaliser at Anfield.

Konate looked a liability again at Forest, tellingly taken off after just 65 minutes as Slot moved Gravenberch back into defence - a sign in itself of Liverpool's lack of alternative ball-playing options at the back.

Action needs to be taken, then. And fast. Because Konate clearly can't be relied upon for any significant spell of time.

Konate wasn't the only man removed just after the hour mark, with Tsimikas replacing Andy Robertson at left-back - an overdue change that needs to be made before the start of Saturday's must-win match at Brentford.

It's difficult not to feel sorry for the Scot, who, at his peak, was arguably the best player in his position for at least a couple of years, but is now an accident waiting to happen. When he's not getting himself sent off because of a terrible first touch, he's failing to get close enough to wingers or simply slipping at the most inopportune of moments.

There may be an element of misfortune in Robertson's errors, but they're becoming far too frequent and consequential to ignore at this point. If Liverpool don't bring in a left-back before the close of the January transfer window - and they really should - Slot simply has to give Tsimikas a chance to lock down the left-back berth.

The Greek is certainly not a long-term solution. In truth, he probably isn't good enough to be the starting left-back at Liverpool at all - but he's a better option than a slowing and clearly confidence-sapped Robertson right now.

Goalkeepers have a longer shelf-life than left-backs, but there are also growing concerns that time - or perhaps persistent injury issues - may also be starting to catch up with Alisson Becker.

When Caoimhin Kelleher gifted Newcastle a 3-3 draw at St. James' Park on December 4 by misjudging a late cross, it was felt that Alisson's return to full fitness couldn't have come at a better moment. The expectancy was that the Brazilian would help restore order to a defensive unit that was starting to creak - that simply hasn't been the case, though. If anything, Alisson has only added to the mounting sense of uncertainty.

It shouldn't be forgotten that Kelleher had been excellent up until his error on Tyneside and Liverpool wouldn't have even been in a position to win that particular game had it not been for the Irishman's earlier heroics in goal. Kelleher is by no means as comfortable on the ball as Alisson, but he's looked like the better shot-stopper this season. Despite playing two fewer games than Alisson in all competitions, he's kept more clean sheets (7-6) and made more saves (44-33). Kelleher also boasts the superior save percentage (79 to 71) - and Alisson's is only getting worse. He's faced 16 shots on target since coming back into the side - but only managed to keep out seven of them.

It's hardly surprising, then, that after seeing the Brazil international beaten by relatively weak efforts from Amad and Wood in the last two games, many Liverpool fans are wondering if Alisson is no longer as mobile and reactive as he was at his peak - before the injuries started to arrive with alarming regularity.

At the very least, it's now easy to understand why Liverpool moved so quickly to wrap up a deal for the highly rated Georgia international Giorgi Mamardashvili, who will join from Valencia this summer.

It's a shame that Liverpool didn't display such admirable foresight when it came to addressing the expiring contracts of Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold. The belief is that Van Dijk and Salah will end up signing extensions because it's clear that both want to remain at Anfield, but Alexander-Arnold's future is very much up in the air - and now, inevitably, has become a distraction.

Even if the right-back hasn't been affected by all of the attention, it certainly hasn't helped. Any time he has a bad game - as against United - Real Madrid are going to be mentioned, and that's not good for anyone at Anfield.

For all his flaws from a defensive perspective, Alexander-Arnold has long been unfairly maligned by the media, nearly always made the scapegoat for poor Liverpool performances even when others are more to blame (Robertson has been let off so lightly this season by comparison), and he unquestionably adds a whole other dimension to his team's attacking play. He played two stunning through-balls on Tuesday that should have ended in goals.

However, Slot now finds himself in a very awkward situation ahead of Saturday's trip to Brentford, as he must be wondering if, in the current circumstances, the risk of playing Alexander-Arnold is worth the reward, especially as Liverpool are going up against a team with real pace and physicality up front.

Normally, it would be a no-brainer to continue with Alexander-Arnold, but the all of the negative noise around the England international, coupled with Konate's struggles on the right-hand side of the defence, may well tempt the Dutchman to bring Conor Bradley into the backline, given he's a far more tenacious defender than Alexander-Arnold while also very good going forward.

On the plus side, Slot is at least in the enviable position of having a ready-made replacement for his right-back, with a new goalkeeper on the way. However, he's now relying on his employers belatedly convincing Van Dijk to sign on the dotted line, which is more important than ever before given Liverpool's lack of stability in the centre of defence, and beginning a backline overhaul that should have started ages ago.

Obviously, there is no need to panic, particularly during a window in which it's often difficult to sign top-class talent. But Liverpool have managed it before with a wide variety of players, including Van Dijk, Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho, Javier Mascherano, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo, and it's being made abundantly clear that defensive reinforcement is required.

Granted, Liverpool's early-season form was always going to be unsustainable, making a blip inevitable and arguably unavoidable, and they remain in a far better position than anyone expected at this stage of the season, with Slot's side six points clear at the top of the Premier League.

They won't stay there, though, if they continue giving away so many soft goals. Liverpool have dropped eight points in their last seven league games and kept just one clean sheet during a run that is eerily reminiscent of the team's struggles during the closing stages of the 2023-24 campaign.

Luckily for Liverpool, their traditional title rivals have their own issues at the moment, but the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal are already making moves in the market to address them. Liverpool simply have to follow suit. Otherwise, there's a real risk of last season's collapse happening again.