Liverpool have lost their last four Premier League matches, with the reigning champions dropping to seventh in the table and major issues for manager Arne Slot to address
Alan Pardew has criticised two Liverpool players, suggesting they ‘look like they’ve had a row’, and given his verdict on a star who has failed to impress at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s team suffered a 3-2 defeat at Brentford on Saturday, marking their fifth loss in their last six matches. Liverpool have now experienced four consecutive Premier League losses, with the champions slipping to seventh place in the table after other results didn’t go their way during the last round of fixtures and their crisis deepened.
They are now seven points behind league leaders Arsenal following the Gunners’ victory over Crystal Palace. The Reds have let in a staggering 21 goals from their 14 games this season, with their loss to Brentford being the eighth time they’ve conceded two or more goals.
Liverpool have also conceded after the 75th minute in eight of their matches, with such goals proving decisive against Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Manchester United during their recent losing streak.
They’ve also conceded within the first 15 minutes in each of their four successive Premier League defeats, with the Merseyside derby win over Everton being the last time Liverpool actually led in the English top-flight, reports the Liverpool Echo.
These struggles aren’t confined to this season, however. Going back to the Reds’ Champions League exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain last March, they’ve lost 11 of their last 25 matches, won 12, and kept just four clean sheets.
They have leaked 31 goals during such a spell, conceding two or more on 13 occasions. Their vulnerability at the beginning and end of matches remains glaring, falling behind within the opening 15 minutes on four further occasions, and letting in goals during the final quarter-hour in three additional fixtures.
Clearly, this is a persistent problem that Slot must address. The situation hasn’t been helped by constant alterations to his defensive line due to injuries, plus a complete overhaul at full-back and in front of Alisson Becker in goal during the summer.
Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Conor Bradley and Giorgi Mamardashvili have all faced criticism at various points during Liverpool’s recent troubles, with Trent Alexander-Arnold regularly enduring similar scrutiny throughout his own Reds career before his Anfield departure.
While Pardew acknowledges that Kerkez has found life difficult since his £40m move from AFC Bournemouth, he has instead blamed Konate and Van Dijk for Liverpool’s continuing defensive problems.
Speaking on talkSPORT, the former Newcastle United manager said: “Konate in the middle of the [back four] and Van Dijk – they genuinely look like they’ve had a row over something. I don’t know, perhaps he’s nicking Van Dijk’s meal at the training ground!
“There seems to be a lack of kind of looking after [each other]. The one thing about centre-backs is they look after their full-back, and they look after each other – that is the key to a back four.
“So, the left-side centre-half looks after the left-back, but he also looks after his fellow centre-half.
“You have to protect [them] – that’s your area. And neither of them are doing that job. So, therefore, that is a massive problem for Liverpool.
“Obviously the ‘keeper’s injured, and they’ve got this young keeper in – I wouldn’t say he’s been poor, but it’s just a different character. Bradley has always been in and out of the Liverpool team, and they’re not regular.
“You’ve got Kerkez, who really is struggling in that Liverpool shirt. I don’t care how you dress it up – he’s come from Bournemouth where he had an outstanding season, mainly through his attacking play, I have to say.
“He’s been found out a little bit defensively, and I thought he struggled again the other night.
“There’s a lot of weaknesses defensively when you actually analyse it. And I think Arne really is searching, particularly at the back and in that central area of stability… This is their problem – it’s like an unfamiliarity.”