Liverpool have endured a slow start to the new Premier League season with a number of their biggest stars failing to find form as of yet.
One of those in question is talismanic forward Mohamed Salah, who has just two league goals to his name in his first six outings. The most recent of those came all the way back on match-day three, during a 2-1 defeat by Manchester United at Old Traffford.
Salah has looked way off the pace in the majority of Liverpool's games this term and that is arguably a key reason behind why the Reds currently languish in seventh, five points behind long-time title rivals Manchester City and six behind current league-leaders Arsenal.
Things have hardly gone much better in the Champions League, as Jurgen Klopp's men suffered their heaviest defeat in their history of the competition after a 4-1 drubbing away at Napoli.
Their next outing also comes in the form of European competition, with the Reds welcoming Ajax to Anfield and the aim to finally kickstart their season. Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy has had his say on where his old side are going wrong so far this term, citing Salah as someone who needs to improve.
"We’ve got to be careful to not go too overboard on this but my feeling is there’s an air of complacency among some of the players,” the ex-Red told talkSPORT. "They’ve fallen into what some managers call a ‘comfort zone’."
Murphy named a number of struggling Liverpool stars that need to up their game and fast, before turning his attentions to the Egyptian international.
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"Salah’s another one, Salah needs a kick," he added. "It’s nothing to do with the contract he signed but sometimes you need it. When you’ve scored that many goals and do what he’s done sometimes you just need upstairs to say ‘come on.’
"If it means digging someone out in front of the rest of the lads, I’ve seen it before, the best midfielder Liverpool have ever had in history [Steven Gerrard]. I remember seeing at half time in a Champions League game being told to get a shower. Nobody saw that coming!"
The Reds were meant to be in action this coming weekend away at Chelsea, now under the guidance of Graham Potter, but the clash has been postponed due to the strain on Metropolitan Police who are fully focused on the upcoming funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
In turn, Liverpool's next league contest is not until October 1 as a result of the upcoming international break in two weekend's time. Klopp recently discussed the idea of the Reds 'reinventing' themselves and while something to that extreme may not be necessary just yet, it is undeniable that something has to change at Anfield.
