"The balance is all over the place at the moment" - Alan Shearer claims Liverpool boss Arne Slot doesn't 'trust' a few of his players

Alan Shearer has opened up on Liverpool's struggles at the start of the 2025-26 campaign. He believes head coach Arne Slot doesn't trust some of his new players, but asserted that he can turn things around.

Slot won the Premier League title in his first season as the Reds' head coach last season. They then saw a major overhaul in the summer, with the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz, and Darwin Nunez leaving. They spent over £400 million on the likes of Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, and Florian Wirtz.

However, their performances have been far from convincing, as they have lost their last three games across competitions. Premier League's all-time top scorer, Alan Shearer, spoke in particular about Mohamed Salah's form, telling Betfair (via Mirror):

"Mo Salah will come back to his best, start scoring goals and we'll all look back and wonder what the fuss was about. He epitomises what's happening at Liverpool at the moment in terms of being affected by the balance and Liverpool and Slot can't find it yet with the new players."

Shearer added that Slot doesn't trust some of his players, saying:

"Slot doesn't trust Frimpong yet at right-back. He doesn't trust Conor Bradley hence the reason he played [Dominik] Szoboszlai there. [Joe] Gomez was on the bench, and he put [Ryan] Gravenberch at centre-back instead and I guess the balance is all over the place at the moment. It's not just Mo Salah, it's down the left and right side."

The former Newcastle United striker, however, backed Slot to turn things around and said:

"Arne Slot is a brilliant coach so it's a matter of time before they do get firing. Now's the time for other clubs to try and build a lead because it was only six days ago that Arsenal were five points behind Liverpool. Two games later, they're a point ahead. Things can move pretty quickly, and Liverpool will get better, as will Salah."

The Merseysiders are second in the Premier League standings, one point behind leaders Arsenal.

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A look at Liverpool's 2025-26 campaign so far

Arne Slot's side began their campaign with a penalty shootout defeat against Crystal Palace in the FA Community Shield after a 2-2 draw in regulation time. They then secured wins over Bournemouth and Newcastle United courtesy of some late goals.

Liverpool then beat Arsenal 1-0 at Anfield and Burnley 1-0 at Turf Moor. They beat Atletico Madrid 3-2 at Anfield in the UEFA Champions League due to a stoppage-time goal from Virgil van Dijk. They beat Everton 2-1 in the Premier League and Southampton 2-1 in the EFL Cup Third Round.

The Merseysiders then lost 2-1 against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park before losing 1-0 against Galatasaray at Rams Park. They then lost 2-1 against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in their last game. The Reds will next face their rivals, Manchester United, at Anfield on October 19.