According to The Athletic, Liverpool's 0-0 home draw against Fulham on Saturday exposed serious midfield problems, with manager Arne Slot facing a difficult balancing act between personnel decisions and striking the right equilibrium between attack and defence.

If previous victories over Ipswich and Atlético Madrid suggested Slot had made an immediate impact at Liverpool, this tepid draw exposed the difficult issues he is trying to solve.

It was an error-strewn, uninspired performance. Liverpool played without urgency, carelessly, and lacked cohesion. For long stretches, they were dominated by a team that had lost all three Premier League matches before visiting Anfield.

Slot believes fatigue was a major factor in the drop-off in performance after the team had expended considerable energy beating Atlético Madrid under Diego Simeone midweek. The intensity clearly suffered.

"There's definitely a lack of freshness — we can't hide that," Slot told reporters after the match.

"This is the worst turnaround, just over 60 hours between matches, but this will happen more frequently going forward. We have to adapt."

"In matches like this, sometimes you need a set-piece goal, a long-range strike, or a moment of brilliance from an attacking player to win — but we didn't have any of those. This is the first time since I became manager where the team has struggled to create chances."

Isak missed a glorious opportunity late on, heading Szoboszlai's corner wide, looking exhausted. Barcola was also off colour, and it's understandable that the high-profile signing from Paris Saint-Germain still needs time to find his rhythm.

But the most concerning weakness Liverpool exposed against Fulham was unrelated to player fatigue. Take the left-back position; Tsimikas was recalled and delivered an extremely poor display before being substituted at half-time. In fact, the Greek defender was fortunate to last that long — he won just 3 of 8 duels (38% success rate) and completed 20 of 31 passes (65% success rate).

With Robertson departed, bringing back Tsimikas from his Roma loan last season as a backup to Kerkez was a cost-cutting measure, but failing to strengthen the position in the transfer market could ultimately prove costly for Liverpool.

Kerkez came on as a second-half substitute against Fulham. The Hungarian left-back has had a poor start to the season, but he faces no real competition for his place. The Chambers Academy graduate impressed Slot in pre-season, prompting the club to keep him rather than send him out on loan, and he should be a better option than Tsimikas.

Slot's biggest headache right now is organizing the midfield. It's a question of personnel and finding the correct balance between attack and defence.

Liverpool did not strengthen their midfield in the summer, trusting that the new manager could extract more from the current squad.

Despite some supporters calling loudly for the signing of a specialist number 6, Slot believes his tactical system does not require such a player. With Curtis Jones sold to Serie A champions Inter Milan, young prospect Niony is expected to get more playing time.

If Mac Allister decides to leave after being told he won't receive a new contract, Monaco's Camara would be the preferred replacement.

Deploying Wirtz in a role within his preferred three-man midfield system is a gamble that could pay dividends when the German star can provide crucial creativity. But when he is ineffective in the number 10 position, as he was against Fulham, his presence forces teammates behind him to cover large areas of the pitch.

Wirtz completed 44 of 53 passes (83% success rate) and won 1 of 4 duels (25% success rate). In the second half, he set up a chance for Barcola with a neat backheel pass, but the French winger missed, failing to find Isak waiting. At other moments, Wirtz's stray passes caused problems, and he felt the frustration of the Anfield crowd.

To inject freshness, Slot started Gravenberch from the beginning for the first time since the opening weekend of the season, but the Dutch midfielder, who signed a new six-year deal in March, has not yet shaken off the poor form he picked up under the previous regime.

Gravenberch looked lacking in confidence, shaking his head in frustration after losing the ball carelessly. He completed 24 of 31 passes (77% success rate) and won 4 of 7 duels (57% success rate).

Mac Allister, who has found his form, was far more stable after replacing Gravenberch in the final half hour. The midfielder who scored the decisive goal against Atlético midweek completed 18 of 20 passes (90% success rate) and won the only duel he contested.

The midfield pairing of Szoboszlai and Gravenberch provided no control. Fulham far too easily exploited the gaps between them. Like Gravenberch, Liverpool handed Szoboszlai a new five-year deal in July, a significant financial commitment.

It was a reward for the Hungarian captain's outstanding displays throughout the previous season. On Saturday, he created more chances (4) than anyone else on the pitch, and his ball retention is undeniable. But Anfield fans were unhappy with his failures in several duels. Szoboszlai won just 1 of 10 duels, an unacceptable showing.

When asked about Liverpool's midfield problems and how to find the right balance between attack and defence, Slot said: "Especially in the first half, our pressing was always one step too slow. That was very clear."

"In the second half, we improved a lot in that regard. With better structure on the pitch, we controlled the match better in the second half. Even without a goal, I felt more comfortable. Even when we weren't excellent in these areas and sometimes struggled, we didn't give the opposition clear goalscoring chances. The only chance we gave them was when we made mistakes with our own build-up."

That dangerous moment stemmed from an extremely poor pass from Alisson to a pressured Gravenberch, which was ultimately cleared by Jaquet right on the goalline, blocking Gonzalo García's shot. The scene encapsulated Liverpool's carelessness.

Unused substitute Niony must be given a starting opportunity in the League Cup clash against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Tuesday evening.

Slot's midfield engine is misfiring.

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