Now is the moment to begin evaluating Alexander Isak equitably as a £125 million Liverpool striker, Arne Slot stated on the weekend. Therefore, evaluation needs to be severe, but as the UK's highest-priced player sat next to Mohamed Salah on the Liverpool bench while the English top-flight champions struggled to force an equaliser against Manchester United in their absence, it was not Slot’s misfiring offence that earned the fiercest blame at the stadium. The team's backline structure has evaporated.
Indeed, Isak was predominantly anonymous in the No 9 position and the Egyptian winger again poor as his individual toils continued versus the team he usually scores against. The Sweden player had his first attempt on goal in the top division as a Liverpool player in the 35th minute, smartly stopped by the opposition's latest goalkeeper the young keeper. The forward wasted a glorious after the break chance in front of the home end and neither complain when their numbers eventually. Cody Gakpo also hit the woodwork on multiple occasions and somehow was unable to net a second shortly after the defender's winner.
It should have been impossible for the hosts to be defeated in a match in which they created plenty of chances, the manager claimed. But it is not impossible with a backline in current state, as Crystal Palace, Chelsea and now Manchester United have shown.
As he presided over a fourth successive defeat as the club's manager, the first man to do so since Brendan Rodgers in years past, the coach must have despaired at a defence display that allowed the visitors to take the initiative as well as their first victory at the ground in nearly a decade. Filled with the same mistakes that Liverpool’s coaching staff had worked on fixing after the international break, including another set-piece goal, it was a display that totally derailed the champions’ second half comeback and lost them the match.
The upper hand was finally with the home side when Gakpo equalized the forward's early breakthrough. Liverpool could feel another late win with replacements one attacker, a midfielder and Federico Chiesa sparking improvement and the opposition in retreat. Instead, it was another last-gasp top-flight defeat, the third in succession, after the team's dead-ball weaknesses re-emerged and Maguire found himself among several United players free past the centre-back in the closing stages.
A thumping goal into the net that Maguire blazed over in the dying seconds of last season’s 2-2 draw gave the United manager the finest victory of his challenging club tenure. For all the criticism around Amorim it was his team that performed with clear purpose and a smartly implemented plan for the majority of a compelling encounter. The initial consecutive league victories of Amorim’s time in charge were the result. Slot’s team again looked like unfamiliar at times, particularly when conceding a dead-ball score for the fifth occasion in the division the current campaign.
Liverpool were lacking from the inception to the execution of Mbeumo’s quick-fire opener. There was no purchase on the initial attempt from the captain, a likely result of having to pass two players to connect with the pass, admittedly, and little challenge on Bruno Fernandes when he took possession and passed to the winger in open area on the right flank. the defender was late to respond, the centre-back delayed to recover and follow Mbeumo’s movement while Giorgi Mamardashvili, filling in for the unavailable Alisson in net, was comfortably beaten from the angle.
Slot could justifiably question his decisions and ask where the whistle was from the referee, an official with whom he has a feisty past, but also doubt the concentration and communication levels his defenders. The forward's strike means the team have managed only a couple of clean sheets in 12 matches this season, the last occurring many matches ago at Burnley.
United exposed Liverpool’s left flank repeatedly in a opening period in which Fernandes, another player and even Gakpo all nearly scored to increasing the away team's advantage. Releasing Diallo quickly versus Kerkez was clearly part of the manager's gameplan. It worked time and again in the opening 45 minutes. The £40 million summer signing from Bournemouth experienced another tough evening in a Liverpool shirt. Throw-ins were even a problem for Andy Robertson’s replacement, who nearly sent the forward in on goal while attempting an challenge. Kerkez and Van Dijk appear on different wavelengths at present.
“We take a many risks,” the head coach commented after United’s victory. “Following the second half we had multiple offensive players on the field. That’s perhaps why our structure for the dead-ball was not as perfect as we usually are. Usually we would have additional defending personnel on the pitch. Maybe it is a coincidence but it is not an excuse. The team understands we have to improve.”
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