Manchester United’s first victory at Anfield in almost a decade condemned Liverpool to their third consecutive Premier League defeat on Sunday evening. Arne Slot is now facing his first crisis at the helm and, if results don’t pick up almost immediately, it’s surely Arsenal’s league title to lose.
Whilst Liverpool fans may have hoped that the international break would be a springboard to better things, they instead saw their team flounder as early as the second minute. A clash of heads left Alexis Mac Allister on the floor near the halfway line, yet referee Michael Oliver waved play on, and Mbeumo ran through on goal to put United ahead. Perhaps the injury to Mac Allister had a lasting effect, and the fact it came from his own teammate’s elbow – Virgil van Dijk in this case – is telling of Liverpool’s current malaise. Until he was replaced early in the second half, Mac Allister had a shocker, though, in that regard, he was far from alone.
Once again, Liverpool played with a lethargy that is hard to fathom—too passive, lacking intensity, and with all of the new signings struggling, they’re a mile off last season’s comfortable title win. Milos Kerkez continues to be rash defensively and too safe going forward, while Conor Bradley is showing too little composure. Uncertainty at full-back is mirrored by Ibou Konate; ‘ponderous’ is probably the kindest way to describe his recent displays. Much like his teammates, he seems almost entirely unable to head through the ball when defending, often ballooning it aimlessly into the air.
Despite the paucity of Liverpool’s football, they certainly had their chances. Cody Gakpo hit the woodwork three times and also found what looked like a point-saving equaliser in the 78th minute. With Mo Salah continuing to misfire and Isac wasting a glorious chance in the first half, the Dutchman’s late strike looked as good as Liverpool were going to get at a rain-soaked Anfield. Sadly, just as they did in consecutive away games in London, they conceded a late goal and lost 2-1.
It was the much-maligned Harry Maguire who stole all three points for United. Yet, to say ‘stole’ would suggest United were fortunate. Yes, they rode their luck at times but, for the most part, they were the more disciplined, cohesive unit, and Maguire could hardly miss the target from just yards out in the 82nd minute. A deep cross to Liverpool’s back post found three United players with acres of space—Liverpool’s season-long defensive frailties again proving critical.
With eight minutes of added time, a second Liverpool equaliser wasn’t out of the question. Yet, somehow, Gakpo missed with his head after being given the freedom of the penalty box late on, and Salah’s replacement, Jeremie Frimpong, had too little time to make an impression.
A slow Liverpool side has now lost four games in a row for the first time since 2014. Slot, meanwhile, evidently doesn’t know his best 11 and, with almost all Liverpool players well below their best, it’s hard to imagine how he might rectify that any time soon. Rectify it he must, though, if this ongoing crisis isn’t to completely derail Liverpool’s title defence before the Halloween pumpkins have even made an appearance.
