Paul Scholes pinpoints contributing factor to Liverpool’s struggles that many seem to be ignoring | OneFootball

Paul Scholes has pinpointed one significant contributing factor to Liverpool’s decline in form that many other pundits seem to be ignoring.

After a horrific sequence of five defeats in six games across all competitions, a lengthy queue has formed to point fingers of blame in numerous directions, ranging from the Reds’ defence to Arne Slot’s tactics to the underwhelming goal contributions from the likes of Florian Wirtz and Mo Salah.

What also hasn’t helped the Premier League champions is that, throughout all of October, they’ve been deprived of one of their most imporant players, with Alisson Becker sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury in the loss to Galatasaray four weeks ago.

Scholes: Liverpool have sorely missed Alisson

On the latest episode of The Good, The Bad & The Football, Scholes claimed that the absence of Liverpool’s world-class number 1 has massively affected them, although he stressed that his words weren’t necessarily a criticism of current first-choice goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.

The ex-Manchester United midfielder said: “I think the goalkeeper’s a big miss. We’ve seen how important ‘keepers are – are becoming, definitely. Alisson’s a big miss. I’m not saying this ‘keeper is playing badly, but it seems like every shot is going in. It’s not a good trait.”

(Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

Any team would be harmed by losing someone of Alisson’s quality

Alisson’s injury alone doesn’t brush over the litany of problems at Liverpool right now, but any team in world football would be negatively impacted by losing a goalkeeper of his exceptional talents.

Even in his last 90-minute appearance before his current injury, the Brazilian spared the Reds from an almighty thrashing at Crystal Palace courtesy of three excellent saves in the first half, when the Eagles were rampant.

He and Mamardashvili have conceded the same number of Premier League goals this season despite the Georgian playing only half the minutes of his elder positional colleague. However, in contradiction of what Scholes said, the summer arrival actually has a superior save percentage (via FBref).

The 25-year-old has still made some superb saves while deputising for Alisson, and he was thrown in at the deep end in the hotbed of Galatasaray’s Rams Park when Liverpool’s number 1 got injured, so it hasn’t exactly been a gentle introduction for the summer arrival.

However, any team in the world would sorely miss someone of not just the Brazilian’s talents, but also his presence and the assurance that he brings to his teammates, who know they can rely on him to step up for the Reds in their time of need.

Don’t try telling us that Arsenal and Manchester City wouldn’t be destabilised if they had to manage with David Raya or Gianluigi Donnarumma respectively for several weeks.