January seventeenth 2016 was the final time Liverpool misplaced a sport of soccer at Anfield to their expensive outdated rivals.
That day it was a Wayne Rooney strike that sealed the win for Manchester United over the Reds. How instances have modified since then. Liverpool have received the league on two events; their mates throughout the best way haven’t.
Ruben Amorim got here into this conflict with slim hopes. Sure, Liverpool had been in a tough run of kind however United’s personal kind has been troublesome ever because the Portuguese took over.
But, for the primary time throughout his tenure, they had been capable of safe back-to-back league victories. Maybe Amorim is the proper man for the job?
Whatever the feeling among the many Purple Devils, questions could now be rising about Arne Slot’s place.
This 2-1 defeat was a very robust one to swallow. Liverpool hit the put up on a couple of events and registered a better xG (anticipated objectives) tally however didn’t take their alternatives.
Cody Gakpo equalised however a late Harry Maguire header condemned the hosts to a 3rd straight league defeat.
They’re now 4 factors behind Arsenal within the race for the Premier League title. It is worrying, actually when you think about simply how a lot they spent over the summer time.
So, the place did all of it go unsuitable?
What went for Liverpool in opposition to Manchester United
Nicely, the place to start? When issues aren’t going your manner, curious issues occur, and that was actually the case for Slot’s prices on Sunday night.
Earlier than scoring from shut vary within the second half, Gakpo hit the woodwork a staggering thrice, essentially the most notable got here within the opening 45 minutes when Liverpool surged ahead on the counter-attack.
The Dutchman discovered loads of room to surge in direction of the penalty space however bent his shot in opposition to the put up.
Liverpool may and will have equalised sooner. On one other day, they win the sport, such are the slim margins of Premier League soccer.
It wasn’t simply their lacklustre ending that price them, nevertheless. Final time period, the Reds had been resilient and rock stable on the again however they’re actually paying the worth for not investing additional within the centre-back pairing.
Milos Kerkez has signed however remains to be struggling to get getting in Liverpool colors with Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo – the scorer of United’s first purpose – working rings round him.
But, skipper Virgil van Dijk is maybe essentially the most worrying of the lot, given his expertise. Not for the primary time in a sport this time period he was caught out and will have carried out higher for the opening purpose.
Mbeumo was allowed to ghost in behind the large Dutchman and he obtained on the tip of Amad’s cute cross to fireplace dwelling.
Whether or not Van Dijk has regressed could be very a lot up for debate however maybe a extra urgent matter is the type of the Premier League’s costliest signing.
Liverpool’s greatest drawback after Man United defeat
In the summertime, Liverpool appeared as if that they had received the switch window. £116m for Florian Wirtz? Do not thoughts if we do. £125m for Alexander Isak? Yeah, go on then.
The Swede was on the centre of an almighty saga. He refused to go on Newcastle’s pre-season tour after which educated away from the Toon’s first-team squad for a couple of months earlier than lastly getting his transfer to Anfield.
Nonetheless, since heading to Merseyside, he has scored simply as soon as, finally battling with health having not featured in any respect throughout pre-season.
Nicely, heading into the sport with United, Slot declared that now was the time to guage him. “Health-wise he’s near the extent he must be and we are able to choose him in a good manner to any extent further.”
Decide him is precisely what we will do. Sadly, it was not an excellent exhibiting from the Premier League’s document man.
For the sixth straight sport, the centre ahead failed to seek out the online and arguably, he ought to have carried out inside Anfield this weekend.
Isak had two photographs and missed one OPTA-defined massive probability, one in every of which he caught straight at Senne Lammens’ proper boot. It was unsurprising he left the sport with a 4/10 match ranking courtesy of GOAL, who rightfully instructed that the striker can be “massively dissatisfied together with his efficiency.”
Isak vs Man United | |
|---|---|
Minutes performed | 72 |
Touches | 19 |
Correct passes | 7/11 (64%) |
Key passes | 0 |
Photographs | 2 |
Photographs heading in the right direction | 1 |
Anticipated objectives | 0.34 |
Huge possibilities missed | 1 |
Dribbles | 0 |
Possession misplaced | 8x |
Stats by way of Sofascore. | |
At Newcastle final season, when the objectives had been flowing, he’d positively have scored, such is his ruthless nature. You’ll be able to level to an absence of sharpness however as Slot says, he is now able to go.
It is extremely tough to go away your greatest signing of all time on the bench however Isak’s lack of kind has had penalties, notably for Hugo Ekitike, arguably Liverpool’s participant of the season thus far.
He bagged 5 objectives in his first eight video games of the season for the Reds and registered an help as effectively.
The Frenchman was ruthless within the ultimate third; he was every thing Isak has been over the previous few seasons and he appeared the total bundle doing it.
It is maybe no coincidence that since Ekitike grew to become much less of an everyday starter Liverpool’s kind has dwindled. Throughout Isak’s three Premier League begins, Slot’s facet have misplaced all three. It is time for Ekitike to get a run from the beginning as an alternative within the Champions League on Wednesday in Frankfurt.
