More Liverpool Posts

Liverpool Article 22 Dec 2025
Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective







This was not a particularly good game to watch and even worse of a performance. The team look unfit, weak, sluggish and mentally prone to collapsing when they make an error, which they often do because of the mental weakness and lack of fitness. You only had to look at the Spurs goal, with the whole slew of mistakes before it, all of them were that of players that looked tired. Crazy when they have spent the season playing slow, controlled football, and this match they spent most of it up against ten men. Yet they looked like they had been the team with ten. To be fair though, starting with Mac Allister is very much like playing with ten men this season.



The first half was a poor watch, the second better. Both teams are not playing well and look very lacking in confidence. Liverpool's play is far too slow and laboured, which is why they have become heavily reliant on mistakes by the opposition to score goals. Let's make no bones about it, Spurs are not a good team and yet they made it extremely difficult for Liverpool, not just with ten men, but also with 9. Not because they did anything particularly good either, it was simply because LFC were so poor overall. They still look like a team not entirely comfortable with the way they are being asked to play, as it cannot be about confidence when on a good run, as they are.



The defending is still shocking, with Konate and van Dijk managing to both do nothing other than a swipe and miss at the ball on the Spurs goal. The pair of them are so poor at communicating, despite having played together for years. It is something that really should be being worked on. Though it would be much better if they just worked on integrating someone else, anyone else, alongside van Dijk. There has to be a youth player that would be better than him. They can certainly be developed into a better player, whereas Konate is not playing for Liverpool in his head any more, that much is clear.



Despite a win, it is far easier to pick negatives than positives out of this match, as there was just so much bad about the Liverpool performance. The results have improved in recent weeks, but the play is still as worryingly bad as it was during the bad run of form. You can only hope that the good results continue and it brings with it improvements in confidence and performances.







Tottenham Hotspur





They are certainly beginning to get into the Frank way. Or, as it is better known, shithousery. It is easy to see why the Spurs fans have not taken to Frank at all, when they have traditionally always played open, attacking football, easy on the eye and entertaining to watch. Under Frank, the football is dour, with the emphasis on kicking players late and playing for set pieces. It is not an enjoyable watch and contributed heavily to one of the most tedious first halves of the season in particular. Frank is just Sam Allardyce, without the pint of wine and brown envelopes. Though I would say he is an inferior copy, as at least Allardyce got entertaining football out of his team when he had Okocha and co at Bolton, whereas Frank is producing mind numbing football despite having a bit of flair at his disposal in Kudus.



Despite their late flurry, Tottenham can have no complaints about the scoreline, nor either sending off. In fact, they can probably feel themselves lucky there were just two reds. The red by Simons was clearly a red, it looked deliberate, as well as needless. The kick out by Romero, after spending all game in the referees face, abusing him, almost asking to be carded with his attitude, was always going to be a red. Soft as it was, in terms of violent conduct, they are always given as a card of some kind, quite often a straight red. Then there was the ridiculous needless charge into Kerkez by Bentancur, so long after the ball had gone. It was a yellow, but on another day could easily have been a red.



I have to say that it showcased the biggest problem Spurs have, along with being unable to get the crowd behind them, is their complete lack of discipline. Romero is the obvious example, he is amongst the rashest and wildest players in the modern game. Incredible that he is a regular international footballer, he makes Sergio Ramos look like a calm, considered tackler. Even worse, he is captaining Spurs! That is insanity of the highest degree to name him, one of the worst players at the club as well, as captain, where he can get himself even more wound up arguing with referees. He spent his entire game just screaming at the ref and was so lucky not to pick up a second yellow long before he got one. He also tried a few times to start a fight with Konate, before eventually just kicking out at him. He is a liability, as he showed on the second goal, where he dived rather than trying to win the header and cost them a goal.



The other thing I noticed is that Spurs are still Spursy. By that I mean they lack fight for each other and their manager. They are happy to scream at the officials, but they pull out of tackles against the weakest Liverpool team I can remember seeing. They would rather moan and whine and complain, rather than work to fix it. The more I watch them, the more I see a team that just has the wrong attitude.







Liverpool





Alisson - had little to do, but when called upon he was quick off his line and quick to get back up and clear the loose ball too. Dealt with the final flurry well.





Bradley - he is a strange player, at times he is brilliant, but at other times he just runs about aimlessly getting in other players' way. It does feel like he just lack intelligence and so needs to be given a more clearly defined role. That is why he excels in games, in my opinion anyway, where he does not have time to think. For me, that would explain why he was so good in his season playing wing-back in League One, as he had a clearly defined role and instructions to follow. Not that it seems to matter as he is incapable of staying fit for an extended period. Until his injury problems are fixed, he is never going to reach his potential.





Konate - a much less crazy performance but still the usual moments of insanity - it is just that the infection seems to be spreading now to the others, judging by the Spurs goal! Still needed to be rescued by Alisson on one occasion, still a weak link that is dragging down the defence. His booking was idiotic and needless, caused once again by himself being caught trying to grapple an opponent, instead of dropping off and being sure at 2-0 up. Slot termed it as always being caught at the scene of the crime, which is a good way to point out that he is causing his own issues.





van Dijk - strong in the air, but when Spurs attacked with the ball on the ground, he was all over the place. His partnership with Konate is non-existent at the moment, he is constantly being forced to cover for him, which is not helping him. However, I think he should be talking more and getting Konate in line, rather than trying to do both jobs and ending up not doing either very well.





Kerkez - his game has been improving, he is getting forward better and defending better too. Still a long way off his Bournemouth level, but much better than his first few games.





Jones - had a mixed game, nearly costing the team an equaliser after doing his usual dwelling on the ball. There is so much to like about him, but he needs to make the step up to the next level on a consistent basis.





Gravenberch - actively got out of the way of Porro's cross, which only did not cost LFC a goal because Spence missed the ball completely. Overall, he did not provide enough protection to the defence, nor did he make any real difference at the attacking end to make up for it. I would much rather see him sitting deeper, he was much better doing that last season than he is playing this much more free role.





Szoboszlai - as soon as he is out of the midfield, it looks weak and wide open. Yes, he can do a very good job at right-back, but the midfield is a shell without him. Slot really needs to find a more viable solution at right-back, to allow him to stay in the centre.





Wirtz - probably the biggest highlight of the match. Not just getting his first assist, but his overall play is really stepping up. You can see an understanding slowly coming with his teammates, who have struggled to see the game at the same level as him up until now. The passes were going in, but most of the time the rest of the team were slow to realise and so they ended up going astray. Now they are starting to connect more often as the other players have begun to understand just how good he is and what he can see.





Mac Allister - this match reminded me of just how special Mac Allister is. To be on a pitch alongside Romero, van der Ven, Spence, Kolo Muani, Simons, Johnson and particularly Konate and yet still be head and shoulders above them as the worst player on the pitch is special. I can only think Slot had forgotten he was on the pitch, that is the only reason I can think of for not hooking him before it finished. His performances are getting worse, which takes some doing considering how abysmal he has been this season. It is embarrassing watching him give the ball away or have it stolen from him, and then throw himself to the ground and pretend to be injured. Why on earth van Dijk has not gotten him by the scruff of the neck and told him to cut it out as he is making the whole team look foolish, I have no idea.





Ekitike - another goal and another impressive performance. He is looking like a bargain, despite his high price tag.





Isak - replaced the injured Bradley in the 46th minute. Scored again but picked up an injury doing so and had to go off, so difficult to judge what he did in those 15 minutes or so.





Frimpong - came on for the also injured Isak in the 60th minute. Looked very good, attacked well down the right and worked back well. His attitude about going off was a worry though. It did seem like he lost his head a bit after a bang in the face which caused a cut on his lip. It was not that bad and looked far from an elbow, just a bit of a coming together, but he had to be taken off as he was clearly not focused on the game after it. That to me seemed the main reason for taking him off, rather than the injury itself.





Chiesa - took the place of Frimpong, who was injured after replacing Isak who got injured after replacing the injured Bradley, in the 90th minute. Provided a bit of energy and work rate, but had little time to really impact the match.





Robertson - replaced Ekitike in the 90+8th minute. Really little more than a time wasting exercise.





Nyoni - brought on for Wirtz in the 90+8th minute. Like Robertson, it was little more than time wasting to bring him on, but he really should have stayed onside when he had the chance to run clear. He had fresh legs and acres of space, all he needed to do was keep himself onside, but he failed, despite looking around a few times. Hopefully he will have at least learnt a lesson from that.

Liverpool Article 15 Dec 2025
Liverpool v Brighton & Hove Albion A Liverpool Perspective







A much improved performance from Liverpool as a whole. The diamond from mid week was dropped and Slot reverted to a 4-2-3-1, but with lots of flexibility and fluidity between the players going forward. A big key to the improvement was the ability of the players to link up, as signs are there that they are beginning to get an understanding developing with the new players, which allowed a lot of rotation in forward areas and, as a consequence, more movement. That allowed Liverpool to create more chances, good chances, and they should have scored more goals really, if they had been more clinical and picked out the right pass more often.



Another thing which helped, not just defensively, but in order to recover loose balls was that one midfielder always sat deep. Rather than emptying midfield, which had caused a lot of the problems in recent weeks, there was always someone sitting there, covering in front of the defence and removing that big space the opposition was able to use to play out. It did not completely fix the defensive issues, there were still far too many chances created by BHA for my liking, but it is a big step forward.



The return of a press, a unified press rather than just Wirtz chasing round on his own, made a huge difference too, though it also highlighted an issue that has been obvious for a while. The lack of fitness of the players to be able to continue pressing as the second half wore on suggests a very good reason for the injury problems amongst the squad. That could be a real problem during busier periods and might explain why the press was dropped for a while, as the players are clearly not fit enough to press for the full 90 minutes. Add that to a lack of recovery time in busy periods, and it is probably why Slot did not want to use it until he knew there was a full week to recover ahead of the next game.



Obviously, there is the argument to be made that instead of dropping the press, he should have increased the level of fitness and conditioning training to allow the players to press. That would be my personal preference of the way to go, as it is clear that Liverpool are a much better team when working behind the press. It is a team of players that suit the press, in the main, with most of them possessing of the mobility and intelligence required to make it work. Overall though, a huge step forward and gives the team a platform to build upon.



There are still worries around the defence, though most of those worries, for me, surround the lack of intelligence and rashness of Konate. It is difficult to organise a group when one member has a tendency to suddenly charge forward needlessly and recklessly, or fall asleep and not track a run, or decide for no reason whatsoever to drag down an attacker who is not causing any immediate danger. I am not sure what more can be done to improve the defence while he is a central cog in it.







Brighton & Hove Albion





They were not too bad, created a couple of chances and made sure it was never easy for Liverpool to pass around at the back. In retrospect, that might have been a big mistake, as they forced Liverpool into playing quickly and getting it forward, as they were not allowing the easy roll around the defence that has characterised LFC's play this season. By putting pressure on, they forced the ball to get into attacking positions quickly - which is Liverpool's strength. Did they, to a degree, play into Liverpool's hands? It did seem that way.



The Seagulls, in effect, forced Liverpool into playing the same way as they usually do, high press, fast attacks, but then found that LFC are simply better at that style of play than they are. Brighton are clearly a good side, but they are struggling with injuries at the moment, a few players are coming back to fitness and that will help them maintain their push for a European place. They badly missed the quality of Mitoma and a top striker is something that they are still yet to find, though Welbeck is doing well, his age and fitness means he cannot be relied on. With a better quality forward line, they would have likely scored a couple with the chances they had, though they were clearly not as good as LFC in this match.



It must also be pointed out that they were very lucky not to be down to ten men when their Gomez caught Wirtz with a high, studs up challenge to the midriff. It is astonishing that with VAR looking on players can still get away with challenges like that.







Liverpool





Alisson - not at it with his kicking, which has not been good since his return from injury.





Gomez - was playing well again until sadly picked up yet another injury. A big loss with Liverpool lacking cover at centre-back and right-back.





Konate - in the main, he was less erratic and useless than normal, but he still had a couple of brain fart moments, which could easily have cost LFC badly. He is simply not good enough on the ball or defensively to make up for his regular moments of idiocy.





van Dijk - was forced out of his tendency to be casual by Brighton's attempts to press. He is much better that way. Played some good long balls as well, a bit like what we have grown to expect of him.





Kerkez - had a tough game, up against the pace of Minteh, but dealt with him well, just needs to learn not to dive in. Overall, he was good and got forward well. No disrespect to Gakpo, but he seems much better without Gakpo ahead of him refusing to give him a pass.





Jones - had a very good game, popping up all over the pitch, showed some excellent moments of skill but there were a couple of moments he missed a chance to release the ball by taking an extra touch.





Gravenberch - had a good game, mainly sat deep but did take a few opportunities to get forward. Needs to improve his passing, which can be a bit loose.





Szoboszlai - once again excellent, both on the wing and at right-back after Gomez went off injured. He linked up well with Salah and provided a real attacking impetus down the right flank. Unfortunately, he also had to go off injured after what looked like turning his ankle.





Wirtz - played really well, just needs to get that first goal now. He is linking up the play, leading the press and working hard to get back and help out defensively. Getting better as the season goes on.





Mac Allister - by a mile the worst player on the pitch, which takes some doing when Konate is also there! He was utterly abysmal. There could have been a traffic cone left out on the pitch for 90 minutes for all the effect he had on the game. It was like playing with ten men. This season is an absolute disaster for him. It is hard to understand how he managed to not get the hook at some point, unless Slot had just forgotten he was out there as he had so little involvement.





Ekitike - another brace for the French forward, who looked blisteringly quick at times and caused the Seagulls no end of problems. He is having a really good season.





Salah - replaced the injured Gomez in the 26th minute. Lifted the crowd and the team after coming on. Tried too hard to be unselfish at times, but should have come away with at least an assist but for Mac Allister's inexplicable decision to pass the ball on when the goal was gaping. Looked really good linking with Szoboszlai and looked quick and fresh. His strength was outstanding and he bullied the Brighton left-back, making him look like a small child trying to get the ball away from an adult at times.





Robertson - came on for Wirtz in the 78th minute. Came on as a left midfielder but looked a bit lost as to where he should be. Can never doubt his effort though.





Isak - took the place of Ekitike in the 78th minute. Once again looked lazy and disinterested. Gave up running on one break, which is unforgivable when you have fresh legs. If he is not fit enough to actually run, he should not have been brought on. If he is fit enough to run, then he should be ashamed of himself for his laziness.





Chiesa - replaced Szoboszlai in the 83rd minute, who was carrying a knock. As always, gave his all and provided fresh energy and impetus, just as Isak seemed to have sapped it all out of the Liverpool team.

Liverpool Article 09 Dec 2025
Leeds United v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective







Another slow, boring, grind against a team that were extremely passive in the first half. Leeds sat back and just looked to hit Calvert-Lewin early with the ball, but he was so far off the pace that he was always too slow to get to anything. That left Liverpool dominating the possession but did very little with it, almost all the shots coming from range. It was another limp performance and looked in dire need of something changing, I was wondering if we would see Salah introduced once more at half-time to give the team and fans a lift.



Instead we got a lucky break and Ekitike buried it. Then another quickly after, before Leeds had time to get themselves settled and you could feel the whole atmosphere was teetering on the brink. Instead of sticking the knife in and finishing off Leeds, Slot instead had the team look to hold on to the lead and sit back, inviting Leeds on to a defence that has been disastrous this season. It was always going to be a problem, the team is so weak, so lacking in aggression when it comes to the challenge that it is easy for opponents to get into dangerous positions. And there is always Konate there to give a helping hand when the ball is harmlessly heading out for a goal kick, by throwing himself into a lunge for the ball and giving away a penalty. Yes, there were other players who let the player get through to that position too easily, but that is no excuse for yet another moronic piece of play.



After the penalty, Leeds were on the front foot and Slot was still trying to sit back and contain them. This despite Liverpool being utterly unable to defend all season long. Then he did it again at 3-2. It is impossible to understand how Slot has become so divorced from reality that he cannot see that he has made such a mess of the team, that they are currently unable to defend at all. His sole solution to things going wrong is to drop Salah, while none of the other underperformers get singled out or dropped, and that has not worked either as performances are still dire. I just do not see any signs of him turning this around at all.



There are a few things bothering me with this team, but 2 in particular stood out - the disorganisation of the press and the lack of movement off the ball. The press is often just Wirtz on his own, sometimes the other forward players will help out, but at the same time the midfield and defence are busy dropping off and leaving a massive gap for the opposition to drop a ball in to beat the press. It was so well organised and aggressive that it led to goals, now it is achieving nothing apart from tiring out Wirtz. The movement is also a huge issue, it was always the Liverpool way to pass and then move. Now a player will pass and then stand still most of the time. It is far too easy to defend against a team which is static.







Leeds United





Leeds surprised me, they just did not seem to have any real desire and were very passive right up until the penalty. To be fair, they were clearly struggling physically after their recent exertions and Calvert-Lewin was like having a man down as he was so far off the pace. I am not sure he won a single header all game. They put in a performance extremely similar to the one West Ham United put in against Liverpool recently, right up until Konate gave the crowd hope. Before then, even though Liverpool were inviting them on, they were not playing like a team with belief and, surprisingly after their last couple of games, confidence. Once the penalty was awarded, the crowd lifted them and they were a different team.



It does make you wonder how different the game would have been if Leeds had gone for it in the beginning, rather than waiting until then, with Liverpool in such poor form and lacking in any kind of confidence. Perhaps this is not as much a case of a point gained against last season's champions and more of a case of two points lost against a struggling team?







Liverpool





Alisson - difficult to judge him, he had pretty much nothing to do until the penalty. He does look a bit off right now, not entirely comfortable on the ball though.





Bradley - when he drives forward and puts an early ball in, as he did for the 3rd goal, he is excellent. However, for most of the match he was just dropping the ball back to a player alongside or behind him, when he got into good positions. Also, defensively he still has a lot to learn and is very raw and rash.





Konate - utterly moronic. There is no point saying any more, I have wasted too much time writing about his failings. If Slot had the balls Klopp had, he would have dropped him for someone right now. Klopp would have just worked with a youngster to bring them on and up to standard, rather than continue to pick a man who is almost actively playing for the opposition this season, if there was no other option in the squad. Surely Slot is capable of drilling a defender in the fine points of defending? Though it does seem he is not so keen on developing the youth, as he quickly dispensed with anyone who was not the finished product, rather than trying to coach and develop them. Which is odd, as I thought one of the main points in bringing him in was supposed to be about his ability to develop players.





van Dijk - spends far too much time blaming Kerkez for his own failings to actually defend these days.





Kerkez - totally wasted, gets forward but never receives a pass until he is on the way back, if at all. His runs do not even have the benefit of moving defenders around any more as everyone knows he will not get the ball from Gakpo. He is certainly not the issue in this team, it is the way he is being used that is causing problems.





Jones - an improvement on Mac Allister's recent performances, but still the extra unnecessary touch when on the ball plagues him. He really needs to release the ball earlier.





Gravenberch - playing far too high up the pitch and leaving the defence too exposed at times. He is much better at taking the ball deep and turning out of trouble to play it forward into the space he has created by drawing players to himself. I have no idea why that has been changed for this season.





Szoboszlai - never stops, never gives up, the club's real captain and heartbeat right now. Scored the third goal and is always there getting up and down the pitch, giving his all.





Wirtz - finally starting to look the part, but he needed help when he was pressing, which mostly he ended up doing on his own before realising no one else was bothering. The lack of organisation of the press is a real worry, it is something that should be worked out on the training pitches, but it looks like they have not worked together at all on it.





Gakpo - I hate to say it, as everyone is on his case at the moment, but he was poor. The biggest culprit for taking too many touches and wasting possession due to it. So many chances to play Kerkez in, but he ignores them and turns inside, then dithers and dallies, instead of putting the ball in early. He looks absolutely bereft of confidence right now, which is probably a large part of him taking all those extra touches, rather than hitting an early shot or cross.





Ekitike - scored two, but it was down to Leeds' mistakes rather than anything good the team did to create for him that he opened the scoring. The service to him in the first half was pretty much non-existent.





Gomez - replaced Bradley in the 68th minute. Had a poor game, lacklustre defensively, far too easily bypassed and picked up a silly needless booking too.





Mac Allister - came on for Wirtz in the 68th minute. His arrival sapped the energy out of the team and allowed Leeds to get forward easily, without Wirtz chasing around, harrying them.





Isak - took the place of Ekitike in the 83rd minute. Once again was utterly anonymous and offered nothing. Still looks incredibly out of shape.





Endo - replaced Gakpo in the 83rd minute. Followed instructions but they were the wrong ones, which ended up seeing him come on to time waste in the corner with still 9 minutes of injury time to play. Then Slot looks bewildered by Leeds being able to equalise.





Salah - did not actually play, but changed the whole focus of the aftermatch of the game. Not keen on a player coming out publicly and speaking out, but I am also not keen on the club sneakily trying to force a club legend out. I am especially not keen on them then employing all their tame journalists to pen hit pieces on Salah following it. It feels like this all stems from the top and the leadership at the club is sadly lacking right now and has allowed a situation to fester and this is the result.

Liverpool Article 05 Dec 2025
Liverpool v Sunderland A Liverpool Perspective







Another terrible performance by the Reds, despite periods dominating possession they offered very little in attack and seemed content to roll it around at the back. When they did look to move it forward quickly, they looked a lot better. It was also worrying how badly they struggled to cope with Sunderland's press at times. The players look so slow and unfit and unable to lift themselves against an energetic opponent like the Mackems. It is really worrying how they only really begin to play when they are losing and even then half the time they still stick with the slow rolling around of the ball between the defenders.



Seeing them up against an all-energy, aggressive, high-pressing side like Sunderland made me hanker back to the old days when Jurgen Klopp rolled into town and made Liverpool incredibly entertaining to watch. It does make you wonder why Liverpool can no longer play like that, to be on the front foot, instead of sitting back and waiting. It worked brilliantly against Aston Villa and Real Madrid and then got put aside again. That would be fine if Slot's way of playing produced the results, but it is not and this turgid football is going to cost him his job if he is not careful.







Sunderland





The Mackems were excellent, they sat back when they needed to and soaked up pressure, but when the chance came they were very aggressive, pressing high and getting right in the faces of all the Liverpool players. They were helped by the lack of pace to Liverpool's ball movement, but they pretty much smothered Liverpool with their workrate being much better and their desire was so much more than their opposite numbers. They did have a few moments when they could well have conceded, Wirtz being unlucky with a ricochet off him going the wrong side of the post for example, but they defended well and worked hard. It was a well-deserved and well-earnt point.



It must be said though, their time-wasting, pretending to be injured, is a real issue this season in the Premier League. Teams are getting away with it, the only people who are losing out are the fans, who are paying to watch 90 minutes of football but are getting 10 minutes a game of players pretending to have injuries, particularly keepers, to stop the play.







Liverpool





Alisson - had no chance with the goal, the deflection completely wrong-footed him, but he had a poor game as his kicking was completely off.





Gomez - decent game, not the best crosses, but there needs to be more effort from the forwards to at least try and get into dangerous areas for the ball to be delivered into.





Konate - another disaster from Konate. He very nearly got an assist for his dreadful attempt to deal with a ball which just led to him knocking behind himself and to Brobbey to run clear. He was lucky Brobbey made an absolute mess of it.





van Dijk - dreadful performance overall from the skipper, which was summed up by him giving the ball away and then turning his back on the subsequent shot, which deflected in off his backside. His form this season is deteriorating at an alarming rate.





Robertson - poor game, his combative nature should have suited the match but he is so off the pace these days that he failed to impact the game.





Mac Allister - a much improved showing from the Argentine. Actually got stuck in and fought for the ball, rather than his usual tuck and roll on the floor when anyone is near him. Came close to opening the scoring as well.





Gravenberch - a few good moments, but needs to impose himself more in games like this. There is more to come from him, as we saw last season.





Szoboszlai - finally started shooting more! Need more of that from him, it will not always come off, but it draws out packed defences to block potential shots, which can open up spaces in behind for passes.





Wirtz - good again, the best attacking player on the pitch in the first half, but he needed more help from those around him. Isak's lack of movement is a real problem, it removes a passing option from the board for him. He was unlucky not to end the night with his first and second Liverpool goal, but you can see it is coming.





Gakpo - it was little surprise he was brought off at half-time as he had little impact on the match.





Isak - astonishing he lasted so long on the pitch, he was, again, hopeless. His lack of effort and sluggish movement (or lack of any most of the time) is really hampering Liverpool. If he is not fit, get him fit on the training ground, not in matches. He is more of a hindrance than a help right now.





Salah - replaced Gakpo at half-time. Brought energy and desire, which really lifted Liverpool. It was much needed but he never got enough of the ball.





Jones - came in for Gomez in the 65th minute. Played at right-back and looked like what he was - out of position.





Ekitike - took the place of Mac Allister in the 74th minute. Dropped off too deep and drifted to the left too much, when he should have been looking to get in the box and scoring.





Chiesa - replaced Isak in the 86th minute. Probably saved Slot's job with his lung bursting run back to clear the ball, almost off the line, after Sunderland broke on Liverpool from a corner and Chiesa was last man. His desire to do whatever it took to prevent a goal was clear. The cult of Chiesa is growing. He really has earnt more time on the pitch but never gets it.





Kerkez - brought on in the stead of Roberton, also in the 86th minute. Never really got involved enough.

Liverpool Article 04 Dec 2025
West Ham United v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective







This game was such a disappointment, yes Liverpool did look a little better, but they were up against a Hammers side that made absolutely no effort to attack and made very little effort in general. In circumstances like that, you really want to see your team take advantage and go out there and rack up a cricket score to improve their goal difference. Especially when Liverpool are only below Manchester United on goal difference. The chance was there to change that but the same slow, turgid performances that have plagued Liverpool this season stopped that from happening.



It was a game that could have seen Liverpool lay down a marker by going out there and battering West Ham into submission, but they were instead happy to do just enough. A 1-0 lead only changed in the dying embers of the game, with the Hammers down to ten men, with little sign of Liverpool even chasing a second.







West Ham United





I have never seen a team try less for the shirt than this Hammers team. It was disgraceful how passive they were, in a way that has left me astonished. But nothing stood out more about the lack of team spirit than Paqueta's sending off. Firstly, you have to point the finger at club captain Bowen for failing to stop Paqueta, he was right there but just stood by watching. The rest of the team were pretty much the same, making no real genuine attempt to stop him. In fact, Liverpool players put more effort into trying to calm Paqueta, particularly fellow Brazilian Alisson, than the entire West Ham team put together. Even the coaching staff seemed to just stand watching, you would think they would be screaming blue murder at the rest of the team to get him out of there!



It does look like Nuno has made a huge mistake going there, his football is woefully unsuited to the club, like Moyes in the past, which makes it more difficult. But now even his strengths, which are building a great team spirit and work ethic, seem to be failing him, the job seems more impossible than anything Tom Cruise has ever attempted. Relegation is beckoning and most of the players look like they just want out, with no intention of fighting to help the club avoid the drop.







Liverpool





Alisson - he will never have an easier weekend. The only save he had to make was trying to save Paqueta from a second yellow!





Gomez - had a good game and the defence looked a lot more together with him there. In saying that, they were never put under any pressure at all.





Konate - even he was able to stroll through this game.





van Dijk - the kind of game he loves, where he is able to play well within himself. I would have liked to see him show more urgency to go get a second from the moment we got the first. Also very frustrating how happy he seems to be to roll the ball slowly to the side for 90 minutes, rather than playing the ball forward.





Kerkez - still playing with far more restraint than he should be and so not getting the most from his talents.





Mac Allister - too busy with incredibly embarrassing playacting to actually play. His diving is shameful, but that moment when the ball brushed against his back took the biscuit for most pathetic overreaction in the Premier League this season.





Gravenberch - decent, but this was probably the easiest weekend he has ever had in midfield.





Szoboszlai - is the only Liverpool player that has been able to hold his head up all season long.





Wirtz - best player on the pitch by a significant margin.





Gakpo - got the second but really did not offer as much as I would have liked over the 90minutes.





Isak - beautiful placed finish for his goal, but the rest of his performance was poor. He still looks nowhere near fit. However, goals like that go a long way towards making up for it.





Ekitike - replaced Isak in the 68th minute. After getting dropped for a massively unfit Isak, he has lost his form of the early weeks. At least he is putting in effort, linking up play and getting involved.





Jones - came in for Wirtz in the 75th minute. The drop in quality was noticeable.





Robertson - took the place of Kerkez in the 85th minute. It was all a bit messy when he came on and he never had much time to really get going.

Liverpool Article 27 Nov 2025
Liverpool v Nottingham Forest A Liverpool Perspective







First thing to point out is that 3-0 flattered Liverpool and even 4-0 would have probably undersold just how badly beaten they were. I know a lot are pointing to Forest's first goal and claiming it should have been disallowed because Liverpool's goal against Manchester City was, but I disagree with that. The issue is that the goal against City should have stood as well, rather than that the Forest goal should have been chalked off.



It did start off a bit brighter, the first 30 minutes Liverpool looked a lot better, played some decent combinations, but still the same problems of too many touches, too many side to side and backwards passes when there were better options. It was better though, with Forest having to defend well and requiring a couple of blocks. Then Forest scored. Liverpool just disintegrated at that point, confidence evaporated and it was already almost certain Forest would win at that point as they just did not look like they had anything to offer to turn it around.



The worst thing is that Slot, who seemed to have all the answers last season, looked utterly clueless as to how to respond and weakened the midfield even further by dropping Gravenberch into defence. It is hard to understand how he fails to spot that the weak midfield is the biggest problem in this Liverpool side. It was the weak link last season, with teams able to bully it at will, but the ability of the team to lift itself and just overrun teams at the end of games due to superior fitness and attitude is no longer there. The failure to address the weakness in the summer is really telling badly now though, with every team exploiting it. The biggest issue is Slot's refusal to accept the need for anyone physical in there, which is making the problem worse. Put a Rice or a Rodri in this team alongside Gravenberch, instead of the lily-livered Mac Allister whose main skill is to flop around on the ground like a goldfish that has got out of its bowl, and they would be immediately massively improved.



Adding that to the complete lack of fitness that the team has right now, and lack of intensity to their play, it is a recipe for the disaster we are currently witnessing. The only question is whether Slot can take the right lessons from what he is seeing and turn it around. I hope he can, but I fear he is unable to.







Nottingham Forest





Forest were excellent, they defended well early on and then picked Liverpool apart at will and fully deserved their win. They will be extremely annoyed about the goal that was wrongly ruled out, and rightly so, it was clear to see the ball hit well above the sleeve line and I have no idea what the VAR officials were looking at if they could not see it. Not that it made a difference to them getting the points, but when the league is as close as this season's Premier League is, goal difference and even goals scored could make a genuine difference to where you finish at the end of the year. VAR is becoming a burden on the game, rather than a help.



What they did well was not to just sit back and hold on, they could have easily just taken the lead and held onto it as they were defending so well but they did more. They kept looking for opportunities to extend their lead and exploit the space in midfield. While Slot got his tactics and subs completely wrong, Dyche got his spot on and that was the difference. He is quickly turning them back into the team they were last season, but with a little more attacking thrust and they should quickly climb the table over the next few months if they continue to play like this.







Liverpool





Alisson - not even the brilliant Brazilian could do anything about the Forest goals.





Szoboszlai - playing a bizarre right-back/midfield hybrid role, in an almost job-sharing set up with Jones, he worked hard but it is just a waste of his talents. Also the lack of confidence is palpable, the constant back-passing to Jones when there were options forward and the unwillingness to take a shot early when it is on, instead electing to take an extra touch or two, they are all signs of a player lacking in confidence. Just shoot when it is on!





Konate - another abysmal performance. Once again he wilted under pressure and folded like a cheap suit when it mattered. It is a shame as he started out looking up for it, but as soon as he made a mistake he just fell apart. He simply does not have the mentality for the top end of the game, he is too weak and loses his head at the slightest thing.





van Dijk - a poor game, he is meant to be a leader but he is not standing up when it counts. He does not drive the team forward, nor does he lead by example by putting in extra work on the pitch to make up for the lack of confidence in the team. He needs to stop whining about what critics say and start proving them wrong by doing what he used to do - work harder and be better. He needs to stop being 'effortlessly cool' and put in some effort, starting with moving around to create a passing option, rather than allowing himself to be marked out of the game when Liverpool are in possession.





Kerkez - he is taking a lot of criticism this season, though I fail to understand how he is being singled out as the problem. He was given a bit more freedom to attack and looked better because of it, his strengths are as an attacking full-back, he needs to be let fully off the leash.





Mac Allister - his fitness can no longer be used as an excuse for his horrifically bad performances, week after week. Questions need to be asked about why he is still first choice despite being abysmal every time he plays this season. It is embarrassing to watch him flop to the ground any time anyone brushes against him.





Gravenberch - he was fairly decent on the ball, but defensively he is just not protecting the defence like last season, drifting too far forward when Liverpool are in possession. There is no cover behind him, there are no defensive midfielders in the side, he needs to sit deeper and provide a bit of protection. For all his good work on the ball, off the ball teams, including Forest, are exploiting the space left in behind him.





Jones - he spent large periods of the game sat in at right-back, while Szoboszlai and Salah were in front of him down the right, in an odd hybrid right-back role. I get the desire to have cover there, but he could have just as easily provided a passing option and cover there from a more central position further forward. There was no Forest player looking to make a run into the space at the times, which is when he should move out there. I know he was trying to do what Milner and Henderson did for years, but they did not just sit out in the full-back position while the rest of the midfield were pushed up the pitch, they did it when there was cover in the centre. All that Jones achieved was to leave a hole in the centre, where it is much more dangerous.





Salah - he is definitely getting back to something like his best, linking up well down the right, particularly with Szoboszlai in the first 30 minutes. But he needs a little help, someone actually attacking the box, rather than all in a horseshoe shape around it, to draw away defenders and open spaces or for him to play the ball to.





Gakpo - had a poor game, seemed to have no idea what he was actually meant to be doing after the substitutions began to be made.





Isak - he is a mile away from being even close to match sharpness and consequently offers absolutely nothing as a starter. A terrible decision to drop Ekitike for him. He should be a substitute coming on to work his way towards sharpness, rather than being carried from kick off. You simply cannot carry players when you are in bad form.





Ekitike - replaced the hapless Konate in the 55th minute. Received no service as Forest defended extremely well. He was not helped by the tactics, which seemed to have degenerated into just putting as many attacking players on the pitch at once and hoping something would happen.





Chiesa - came in for Isak in the 68th minute. At least offered energy and urgency, but there was no space for him to operate and he ended up dropping deep most of the time. I just do not understand the consistent misuse of an asset like Chiesa.





Robertson - took the place of Kerkez in the 68th minute. Seemed a waste of a substitution when you are losing to take off an extremely attacking full-back in a like for like sub. He did not offer any more to the game.





Ngumoha - was brought on for Jones in the 78th minute. Just another ridiculous, desperate sub emptying an already weak midfield to bring on yet another attacker, when there was no space for them to operate. He did nothing, but he had no chance as Forest could just mass their defence and not have to worry about Liverpool doing anything different to draw them out.

Liverpool Article 12 Nov 2025
Manchester City v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective







A shambolic performance by Liverpool, with Slot reverting to the terrible style of play that had been failing miserably this season, despite having had two wins in a row playing a different way. It does beg the question, why change a winning formula? If the players are struggling for fitness, that is what substitutions are for. What is worse is the refusal to budge from just slowly rolling it around the backline, even at 3-0 down. What are they seeing on the bench that made them continue to play it for 90 minutes?



There is little that can be said for Liverpool, it was an abysmal showing, Slot got it all wrong and it is now on him to fix it before the next game. The constant return to this slow, boring way of playing does suggest that the issue is Slot himself and that he has not understood the Premier League, even after a year in charge. The issues at Liverpool are not just the same as last season, they have been amplified by the recruitment and tactics, rather than rectified.



I do not understand how anyone watching the Reds last season could not have spotted that the midfield needed more bite as a priority, nor that Konate was a weak link and an accident waiting to happen every single game. Somehow, no one at the club spotted either issue and so did nothing about rectifying those two big problems. Even more bizarre when it was so obvious that the midfield trio was running on empty at times last season. It was understandable signing the two strikers, who were desperately needed as the three players who played up front last season were no longer available, but when you are spending that amount of money, you surely have to deal with the obvious weaknesses next?



That aside, there is no excuses for the mess we are seeing on the pitch right now, with a team that is definitely underperforming. The quality of the players is much better than the results being achieved and that is down to the tactics, which are failing miserably and do not even have the mollifying effect of being enjoyable to watch. Everything about it is terrible and needs to be addressed. Why buy a pair of attacking wing-backs and then put shackles on them? Why buy the best young attacking midfielder in Europe last season and then push the rest of the midfield in front of him so there is no space for him to operate?



Nothing that we are seeing this season made sense until the Aston Villa and Real Madrid games, so why on earth would you then revert back to the stupidity of the rest of the season? There is so little to even enjoy about watching Liverpool right now and that makes it difficult to back Slot, even though he won the Premier League at a canter last season.



That is probably why LFC are making such a fuss about the Virgil goal being chalked off. Well that and it smacks of refereeing bias when that same referee decided an almost exact same goal scored for Man City against Wolverhampton Wanderers last season was not offside. I think that no one would really be talking about it if that had not happened. It certainly does not help that the referee lives in Greater Manchester, so should not be officiating games involving the Manchester sides anyway. I do not understand this insistence by PGMOL of appointing Manchester-based officials to games involving Manchester sides, it is arrogance on their part to think that is acceptable. It does not matter whether the officials are biased or not, they are immediately under mental pressure that is not needed simply by being chosen for those matches. It is not like we have any competent officials to begin with, so why put them under unnecessary pressure as well?







Manchester City





It is very difficult to know what to say about Man City's performance, they had it so easy that they had very little to worry about, they did not even need to play particularly well. The one thing that did stand out as having understood how to stop Liverpool when they play this way, apart from just turn up as that seems to work fine for everyone else, was to use Haaland to man-mark van Dijk when Liverpool had the ball and wanted to slowly roll it back and forth between him and Konate. That blocked that off and left the ball at Konate's feet, where the big Frenchman moronically just gave it back to them. It certainly made their day even easier.



The fact they won so easily is even more worrying, from a Reds perspective, when you consider just how badly Cherki played. If Konate had not been so catastrophically bad (again), a lot more notice would have been taken about just how dire Cherki was. But it matters little when your team strolls to victory. Also, it helps when Doku is such a shining light that no one really notices anything else. Doku, like Haaland, has come on in leaps and bounds for this season. You can not fail to be impressed by the massive gains he has made, from a player who had the pace and skill to beat anyone but would then just launch the ball aimlessly (usually into row Z) to a player that still has the good bits but has added end product. He has turned into a quite simply brilliant left winger.







Liverpool





Mamadarshvili - an improved performance from the Georgian, even his kicking looked a lot better and he continued with his extremely impressive penalty save record. However, he still does not fill me with confidence, it was more likely that Citeh do not play a type of game that puts his weaknesses under pressure, hence the improvement.





Bradley - was absolutely tortured by Doku, particularly early on. There were signs in the second half that he was beginning to get to grips with the winger, but the game was over by then. You just have to question why he was given no help at all by Salah, who has the experience and intelligence to see that the lad needed help. What was pleasing was Bradley's attitude, he just kept going and did not react to the lack of genuine help from his teammates by throwing a strop. Despite the problems caused by Doku, he was probably Liverpool's best player overall.





Konate - he has stunk the place out all season, yet this still managed to plumb new depths for him in just how badly he played. How bad does he have to play before he gets dropped? It is getting embarrassing to watch now and it is clear that teams are targeting him because he is such a weak link. I lost count of the number of times he just aimlessly lumped out into touch in a panic, despite being under no real pressure on the ball. His lack of intelligence is seriously disturbing. City stood off him and just let him have the ball, so why just pump it into the stands? Carry it forward until they do engage, which will open up someone to receive the ball.





van Dijk - showed his limitations as a captain with his inability to make on pitch changes to improve what is happening. In particular, why just allow Haaland to mark you out of the game? Surely the answer is to stop giving it to Konate and then standing there being neither use nor ornament and instead pass it forward himself when he got it. Or perhaps try moving to drag Haaland around. What he did was just stand there and allow himself to be put out of the match. I expect better of a player with his experience.





Robertson - looked a game too far for Robertson and he seemed leggy.





Mac Allister - failed to make an impact on the game, other than picking up a booking.





Gravenberch - should have done more to help Bradley and got closer to him. Had a poor game overall.





Szoboszlai - he was the only outfield player in a red shirt other than Bradley that had any real positive effect on the game.





Salah - awful game, was poor offensively and non-existent defensively. He can be excused not working back when he is racking up goals and assists, but this season he needs to start tracking back and putting in the work for the team first and foremost.





Wirtz - his teammates are simply not picking him out when he is in better positions than they are. When he did get the ball it was in positions with no option to pass to, with no one showing for him and he was usually quickly surrounded by three or four players. It is clear Guardiola did not want to let him have a moment to produce anything.





Ekitike - poor game, even his work rate was terrible. Failed to close down for one of the goals as well, which is unforgivable as he had plenty of time to do so but made no effort.





Kerkez - replaced Robertson in the 56th minute. Did Slot even watch him play last season? It is incredible how badly he has been used. Not once has he been asked to play to his strengths.





Gakpo - came in for Ekitike in the 56th minute. An incredibly stupid substitution, to take off the main striker and go with no striker when you are already getting battered. I am not sure what the thinking was behind it but it failed miserably.





Jones - took the place of Mac Allister in the 74th minute. Made the midfield a little more secure defensively.





Chiesa - was brought on for Wirtz in the 83rd minute. At least he showed desire and willingness but he got no service.





Gomez - was subbed on for Bradley in the 83rd minute. Just a pointless substitution, basically Slot had thrown in the towel long before and was just worrying about keeping players from getting injured.

Liverpool Article 04 Nov 2025
Liverpool v Aston Villa A Liverpool Perspective









A return to very much what worked last season produced a similar result to the ones Slot was getting all last season, a fairly routine victory. Is that proof that Slot just needs to return to playing that way and give up on his new approach? Hard to say, especially as Villa very much played into Liverpool's hands by trying to play out from the back and making it possible to apply a high press. It certainly does feel like Slot just tried to change too much, with so many changes to the playing staff, perhaps it would have been better to just start off playing like the vast majority are used to and then gradually begin to introduce the new style over the course of the season.



The big question now is whether or not Liverpool have turned the corner or if this is just another false dawn like the Eintracht Frankfurt game? Both teams played right into the hands of the Reds and suffered for it, but how many other teams this season will do the same?





Aston Villa





I was very surprised at Villa's chosen approach, I know they were on a good run, but I would have expected Emery to make some tweaks to the set up to get at Liverpool. You have Robertson, who is clearly a step short of what he used to be, and struggles to deal with balls in behind, but Villa failed to use the space behind him at all. They did play some good stuff at times, when breaking the press, but it was few and far between. When it did work, that was when they created their chances, but they really should have looked to mix it up more rather than playing into Liverpool's hands. Emery has his style of play and he sticks to it, which is fine most of the time, but he needs to look to get some pace in wide areas against teams like Liverpool and use the longer ball over the top for that pace to run onto.



They were very disappointing, passing it around at the back but without enough pace most of the time and so playing themselves into trouble. I know some are calling Martinez's mistake a bit of luck, either good for Liverpool or bad for Villa, but it was hard work by the team closing down the options and putting him under pressure that caused it. Martinez suffers from arrogance, thinking he is better than he is, which often leads to mistakes when he is pressured. That is not luck, that is a weakness in his game that was exploited. However, it was also a mistake by the players around him to keep passing it around slowly and roll it back to him, increasing the chance of a mistake like that happening.







Liverpool





Mamadarshvili - had very little to do, the only real shot on target was at a comfortable height and very close to him, so there is no judgement that can be made on his performance, other than he did nothing wrong.





Bradley - he grew into the game as it went on, having a much better second half than first as his confidence grew playing a way he understood. There were times that he, Szoboszlai and Salah linked up very well down the right and it was clear that returning back to a set up he understood particularly helped him. One thing that is always in his favour is work rate, but it was particularly evident in this match when he sprinted back after losing the ball to challenge for it back. It is always good to see a player run as hard back towards his own goal as he does when getting forward. Far too many (just look at Djed Spence's performance for Tottenham Hotspur against Chelsea over the weekend) barely put in any effort defensively, while busting a gut to get forward for the chance of a bit of glory.





Konate - a much better performance from the French defender, who finally looked like he remembered which team he was playing for this season and attempted to hit teammates with passes and headers, rather than opposition players. He has been comically bad this season, but this was a good, solid performance from him.





van Dijk - the captain also stepped up his game against Villa, which does lead me to believe that a lot of the problems have stemmed from the change in tactics for this season leaving the defence exposed. The attack and midfield were able to press and so relieved a lot of the pressure on the defence.





Robertson - while still showing signs of not having the pace he had, he looked a lot better with a return to tactics he was comfortable with and up against opponents who tried to be muscular, rather than looking to use pace up against him.





Mac Allister - finally looked like he was on the same planet as the other players, rather than one with a gravity many times that of earth, dragging him down and slowing him up. Not a particularly good game, even if you exclude the cringeworthy play-acting after Onana pushed him by the throat, but also not a bad game, so much better than the rest of the season.





Gravenberch - while this was not a game at the levels he can hit, he had a good solid game and was key to Liverpool's set up tactically. His ability to receive the ball and turn out of trouble is extremely important to the way of playing.





Szoboszlai - best player on the pitch, popping up just about everywhere. He is having an excellent season and this performance was one of his better for the season. He does so much for the team, from breaking up play to leading the press and linked up really well with Salah and Bradley down the right.





Salah - a much improved performance, he roasted Digne time and time again. He is so strong and able to take the ball in under immense physical pressure (usually while being blatantly fouled) in game after game, but this game saw him also beating Digne and getting away from him.





Gakpo - not at his best, but still part of a much better overall team performance.





Ekitike - the one new signing who has stood out as being good right from his first appearance, once again he was causing the opposition defence problems. He is good in the press and works hard for the team, as well as being a genuine goal threat.





Wirtz - replaced Ekitike in the 77th minute. Still looks to be finding his feet and playing out of position once again was not really helpful for him.

Liverpool Article 18 Sep 2025
Burnley v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective









A terrible watch, not helped by the way Liverpool play it slowly around trying to tempt the opposition out for long periods, particularly early in the match. Burnley had no intention of coming out to play, they were always going to just sit there and hang on for dear life, so it was just wasted time. When a team is sat in, the ball needs to move much more quickly to move them around and create gaps. It only takes one man to be a bit slow reacting, maybe he is looking the other way to check on the man he is marking or is distracted for a moment by a runner, to leave a gap that can be exploited. When you are just moving it around slowly, they have plenty of time to shuffle over. The other thing that would be good is to have full-backs flying down the wing and hitting the byline at pace before crossing the ball in, but instead they constantly underlap the widemen and just clog up the space in the centre.



It means the full-backs are just running into the packed defence, rather than potentially pulling someone out of position trying to track them, which allows the wide defenders to concentrate on Salah and Gakpo. When Robertson came on and did make some runs out wide, it created the opportunities for Gakpo to really attack and beat Walker to get a ball in. Unfortunately, until Chiesa came on, there was no one in the centre to even try to get on the ball. Wirtz and Ekitike both want to drop off and get the ball to feet, rather than looking to get in on the end of crosses. Mac Allister's injury meant he was unable to be the one that broke into the box, something he has proven to be good at, and Szoboszlai and Gravenberch are both similar to Wirtz and Ekitike and want to receive the ball on the edge of the box, rather than charging in to get to a cross.



That is why it ended up being a grind, rather than picking up an early goal and forcing Burnley to ditch their game plan. With the slow ball movement and lack of players attacking the ball when it did come in, there were very few real chances created. I am sure Slot will be looking carefully at it and I would hope that he will give more freedom to the full-backs to attack, but most of all to get them to overlap, rather than underlap all the time. Underlapping is more useful when the defence comes out to engage, leaving gaps. When there is no gap, there is no point in them running into traffic. At the end of the day though, what matters most is the points. It is three more points and how it was achieved is really not as important at the end of the season, just that those points are on the board.







Burnley





Burnley had a plan, but no ambition of even snatching a win despite being at home and so got what they deserved - nothing. It is not like this is something unusual, they played this dross football week in, week out in the Championship last season, so I have no sympathy for them when it fails them. Their whole tactical plan was to sit in with everyone behind the ball and defend their own penalty box - it says a lot that their supposed main striker spent what felt like most of his game in his own penalty box in open play. They did work hard and gave their all, but it made little sense to just keep dropping deeper and not have at least one player up to give them an out ball. It turned the game into a boring attack against defence training session, rather than a true football match.







Liverpool





Alisson - a very easy day out for Alisson.





Szoboszlai - he needed to be getting down the flank in this match, rather than inverting, to try and drag the Burnley defence wider and stretch the play. This would have been an ideal game for Frimpong's style of play really. Once he shifted into the centre after half-time, he was much better, but I would have liked to see him try a few more shots on the edge of the box to force the Burnley defence to push out to him and close him off. It might just have created a gap in behind.





Konate - with Burnley providing little attacking threat, he spent most of the game deep inside their half. The problem was that he is the one getting furthest forward, getting on the ball in areas he could do damage, rather than van Dijk. It is the wrong way round, as Virgil is much better on the ball and needs to be the one pushing up. Unfortunately, Konate cannot be trusted to defend one-on-one, so it has to be him that pushes further on. Otherwise, you just know he would end up not reading the run because he is sleepwalking through the game, as usual, and getting a red card due to pulling someone down who had just run straight past him without him noticing.





van Dijk - very rarely had any kind of threat to deal with, but what he did have to do, he did in his usual calm unflappable way. I would like to see him drive forward more from defence in these games. Maybe hit a shot or two from range as well, he has an excellent long range shot on him.





Kerkez - he is playing with so little confidence at the moment, not helped by his shockingly bad dive. He just needs to relax a bit. I would like to see him let off the leash in games like this, to just be given the freedom to attack down the flank at will. I also think a few games of playing without having to worry about the instructions he has been given would help him lift his confidence and help him perform better when he does have to play in a more limited way. What was badly missing against Burnley was having the two full-backs bombing down the wing, overlapping their wideman, to allow the wingers to attack the box.





Mac Allister - bit difficult to judge his performance, as he got crunched on his ankle and came off at half time. It might be that he is still off the pace, or it could be just that he was struggling with his ankle.





Gravenberch - the man of the match for me. He was able to get further up the pitch without worrying about Burnley breaking, as they were refusing to commit bodies forward even on a break. In matches like this, maybe there is a case to be made for him to be looking to break into the box for crosses, as his height should enable him to cause problems, even if he does not get on the end of balls played in.





Wirtz - improving with every game, he is starting to have a genuine influence now. Not the easiest game either for the more creative players, like him, as there was simply no space between Burnley's packed ranks to pick a pass or run through.





Salah - not his best game, but I am not sure what people expected him to do. He is always watched by at least 2 players, usually with a third covering, he got very little chance to run inside, particularly after Bradley was brought on, as Bradley constantly cut inside him and just congested the space. That left Salah with chalk on his boots, which is not where you want him and is not helpful for the team. He needed an overlapping full-back or midfielder, drawing away a defender so he could actually get some freedom and move more central, where he can threaten. What you do know is that, when the chips are down and you need someone to step up and win the game for you with a late penalty, Salah is the man to do so.





Gakpo - needed to see more of the ball in dangerous areas. When he did, he was mostly able to get past Walker and cause real problems for the Burnley defence. Then the issue was a lack of numbers for him to pick out in the box, which was packed with defenders. He was very lucky to escape a yellow card for a dive that was almost as embarrassing as Kerkez's.





Ekitike - a decent game, a few good moments, but he just did not get enough service to really impose himself on the game and often ended up drifting deep or wide looking to get involved. What I did not like was that he did not get himself into the 6 yard box enough when the ball was wide. There was no one getting in there looking to get on the end of crosses to cause a bit of danger for the Burnley defence.





Robertson - replaced Kerkez in the 38th minute. Where Kerkez was nervous and looked to be trying far too hard to make an impression, Robertson just slotted right in and played well. Admittedly, he was never under any pressure defensively but he got forward well and caused a few problems in the opposition half.





Bradley - was brought on in the stead of Mac Allister at half-time. He provided energy and direct running, worked hard defensively and did well in that aspect, but was poor going forward. He gave the ball away cheaply a couple of times, plus his runs were always inside Salah, which did nothing to create any space. Salah was being doublemarked all game, he needed someone overlapping him to create some space, but never got that until Frimpong came on. Bradley needs to vary his runs, instead of always just looking to get into the box.





Chiesa - replaced Ekitike in the 72nd minute. Showed energy and desire, plus the lift his song provides among the fans, but really should have scored with unchallenged header. At least he did get into the box and look to get on the end of things, which made a huge difference.





Frimpong - took the place of Konate in the 87th minute. His arrival, along with Ngumoha's, really improved Liverpool, simply by allowing Salah to shift more centrally, that opened up all the space on the wings for him and Ngumoha to utilise. Just having him running wide and looking to attack down the flank caused so many issues as their defence on the left side were all focused on Salah.





Ngumoha - came on for Wirtz in the 87th minute. Showed some pace and trickery, just needed to see more of the ball.

Liverpool Article 04 Sep 2025
Liverpool v Arsenal A Liverpool Perspective









A game that really lacked entertainment value but still managed to produce drama at the end. It was an odd game, with Liverpool really struggling to get their forward line into the game. There were a number of reasons for it, poor passes into them was probable the biggest, as it took until the second half to produce any decent accurate balls into their feet. Another issue was the movement, which saw a lot of replication of runs - particularly the deeper midfield pair Gravenberch and Mac Allister, who made the same run a number of times, reducing the available options to the man on the ball. Worse was their tendency to both run forward, forcing Wirtz to drop deep to cover for them, which happened a lot and he was forced to act like a defensive midfielder a number of times. That is not getting the best out of any of them.



Unless the team is losing late in the game, those two should never ever both be forward at the same time. Not just because it then requires Wirtz to be alert and his attacking threat is nullified, but because they tend to just get in each others' way. They both think along similar lines, spot similar openings and make the same run to take advantage. Over time, as they get back used to playing together, I am sure they will work it out so that only one makes the move forward at a time, but right now it is the main cause of Liverpool's disjointed play. As the players gain match sharpness and familiarity with each other's game in their new roles, I am sure that be sorted out.



As usual though, Slot's ability to tweak the team during the game to crank up the pressure on the opponent was impressive. He is like a boxer, feeling his way into the fight, sizing up his opponent in the early rounds and then all of a sudden takes charge of the fight. The first half slow, patient passing around at the back to try and bait the opponents into leaving gaps can be a bit dull to watch, but it is incredibly effective. It is pulling the opposition around and making them work, tiring them so that there are gaps to exploit in the second half. It is actually incredibly reminiscent of the Liverpool of the early 1980s, who won everything and they did it by grinding the opposition down over the 90 minutes. Slot's team is the same.



You could see it in this match, as Liverpool started to control more of the play after about 60 minutes, helped by the arrival of Jones in midfield. But there is still a lot of work to be done on bringing the unit together and building the innate understanding that the players need to have of each others' runs and movement. There is still a looseness to the passing at times that also needs to be ironed out, something that usually just needs match sharpness to get rid of. Overall though it was a close game, but Liverpool just about deserved the victory due to actually having the ambition to go out there and try to win it, rather than looking for a point.







Arsenal





Arsenal were very disappointing, I know they lost Saliba after 5 minutes to injury, but that is not the reason they lost. In fact, his replacement was one of their better players in the match. The reason they lost was down to one man alone - Arteta. For all the talk of him being a disciple of Pep Guardiola, he is producing performances that suggest his real icon is Tony Pulis. When he first took charge, Arsenal under him played good football, they were exciting to watch and they were improving. But recent years seem to have taught him the wrong lesson and instead of looking to keep playing good football and getting some gains from good set pieces, he has just thrown out the good football and is playing for set pieces.



The problem is that, apart from the constant recruitment of full-backs that are a threat from set-pieces and are actually centre-backs who can play there, the players Arteta adds to the team do not suit the way the Gunners are playing. And that is where it all fell apart. The midfield, apart from Rice, was poor. Zubimendi was all at sea trying to play like this. He needs to be in a ball-dominant team to get the best out of him, not a team that looks to win corners in the hope of making something happen. He is not physical enough and ends up just getting bypassed by opposing attacks. Merino is so lacking in mobility that his only real use in this system is to be a big body at set pieces.



Added to that, Arteta lacks Slot's ability to tweak things to take control of games. He just seems to throw on players with little real plan. The fact that, even at 1-0 down in the final minutes of the game, you still had the embarrassing spectacle of Jurrien Timber time wasting and refusing to get off the floor, even after Gakpo twice tried to help him up, tells you a lot about what they are getting instructed to do. It is the lack of ambition after coming up to 6 years in charge and a billion pounds spent that would bother me if I was a Gooner. But they seem to 'trust the process' even if that process is not apparent to anyone else!



It is odd that a team with such a solid backline is afraid to push forward a little more. They have such a solid base to operate from that they could afford to be a lot more attack minded without leaving themselves wide open, even against the better sides. If they keep being so negative, it will end up in yet another negative result at the end of the season.







Liverpool





Alisson - had a much easier game than against ten man Newcastle, which tells you a lot.





Szoboszlai - the best player on the pitch, even without that free kick. He was exceptional, getting up and down at pace, playing an exquisite 60 yard cross field pass to Wirtz's foot (incredible touch by the German too) and he inverted at the right times and also got down the flank when that option was right. His ability to pop up all over the pitch from right back and pick passes was like some kind of cross between Gerrard and Alexander-Arnold. Bradley and Frimpong actually have a real fight on their hands to hold onto the right-back slot, he genuinely looks like he could be better than either there. Though he is also badly missed from the centre of midfield! All that and managing to look nearly as good as me while doing it. His movement caused Arsenal so many problems, he was able to find himself space in dangerous areas high up the pitch, but had the work rate and pace to get back into his defensive position when the ball was lost. He also got forward at the right times, other times he would drop in between the two centre-backs to create a passing option when the ball was being passed around at the back to try and bait Arsenal in. He was a right-back when the ball was lost, but when Liverpool had possession, he was free to roam. The key thing was that he had the intelligence to use that freedom to help the team.





Konate - a much better performance, but he is still making basic errors which could cost the team. A number of times he was far too busy grappling with the man he was marking to just deal with the ball being played in, like he should have, and it sailed over his head into a dangerous area. So a step forward, but far from a great performance.





van Dijk - an excellent performance from the captain. There was no header that went unchallenged in his area because he was too busy with the opposition players - he remembered what he is there, to deal with the ball. And win it he did, again and again and again.





Kerkez - a very good game from the Hungarian international. Madueke has the ability to beat anyone, but he never gave him a moment's peace, even when beaten he was right back at him again straight away, harrying him.





Mac Allister - still a long way off the pace and struggled badly, but he needs to play to get back to sharpness. Luckily he was not put under any real pressure to take advantage of his lack of match sharpness. I would have liked to see him play with a bit more caution, with him not being at his best, instead of charging forward at every opportunity. Now there is Wirtz up there, he just ended up crowding the space and not giving Wirtz any room to play in. Plus Gravenberch often made the same run, which is something they need to work on, a bit more communication would not go amiss.





Gravenberch - a decent game, though he did get forward a bit too much for my liking, which forced Wirtz to drop off and end up protecting the defence. It is clear the trio in midfield are going to take a bit of time to come to an understanding of each others' games, but at least the three of them are all conscientious enough to be able to cover for each other.





Wirtz - showed some moments of genuine quality, including that beauty of a take from Szoboszlai's cross field pass, but often ended up as the deepest lying midfielder, which is not ideal. However, you cannot fault his effort for covering and how well he did when in that position. There are definitely signs that he will come good.





Salah - he took a bit of stick for his performance, though I am not sure why. Not just was he up against the meanest defence in the Premier League, but he got no service until near the end of the game when he must have been tiring. Considering he kept Gabriel pinned back and unable to double up on Ekitike, allowing him more space to operate, I would consider it a decent game.





Gakpo - decent game, but the lack of service gave him little chance to do more than he did.





Ekitike - got no service, but put himself about as much as possible. New boy Mosquera gave him little time or space to work in.





Jones - replaced Mac Allister in the 60th minute. Bringing him on helped Liverpool to step up their game, he played very well, mostly sitting in and allowing Wirtz to just stay up high and operate where he is most effective.





Gomez - was brought on in the stead of Konate in the 78th minute after Konate pulled up. Had an excellent game, he made sure not to get caught up in a personal battle and instead concentrated on the ball.





Chiesa - replaced Ekitike in the 78th minute. Like Ekitike he never got the service to really affect the game.





Endo - took the place of Wirtz in the 88th minute. Closed out the game in his inimitable, combative, abrasive style.

31 Aug 2025 21:53:54
Chuffed with the win (as we all are) but what I’m more chuffed with is the fact that we are 3 games into the season and we are already 4 points up on respective games from last season 👍🏻.

{Ed025's Note - the result was great AH but what a dire game of football, it was disgraceful that the supposedly 2 best teams in the country could serve up such a load of S**** mate...it was embarrassing..

Liverpool Article 28 Aug 2025
Newcastle United v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective







It was not a particularly good performance by Liverpool, not in the slightest, but once again they found a way to win it when it matters. That is a great habit to get into while you are trying to get your football flowing. There were long periods in the second half that it looked like it was Liverpool that were a man down, as they allowed themselves to be overrun and pushed back. In the main though, they did deal well with the aerial onslaught from Newcastle. It was two bad basic errors that gave the goals away. I think I have to agree with Arne Slot on this though, games like this, especially this early in the season, you just have to get through and get the result. It was the same when Stoke were in the Premier League, games against them were never pretty but all that mattered was coming away with the result.



It does continue a worrying trend though of Liverpool's midfield being bullied out of games by a more physical opponent. So far it has not cost the team and so it is not a problem, but long term you would have to think the opposition will target this more and more. One thing is for sure, I have faith that Slot will find ways to deal with whatever is thrown at him. He has the ability to adapt and overcome, no matter how ugly it can be at times.



Once again in this game, Slot showed his ability to bring on substitutes, change the play and get that win. It may not be doing much good for my heart, but it is working. It was clear that he expected Newcastle to do exactly what they did and was just looking to soak it up and try and take the sting out of the game. You could see that by the way Liverpool took their time in everything they did, when they are usually looking to restart quickly all the time. Instead they were looking to frustrate Newcastle's team and fans. And it worked. Yes, it was unable to lower the crowd volume but instead it saw a number of the Toon players lose their heads. If the referee was not so weak, the man advantage would have been either more or the Newcastle team would have had to back off a bit. Unfortunately, Hooper is the weakest (and probably the worst) of the Premier League officials and he folded under the pressure. He seemed a lot more concerned with just trying to get good pictures on that stupid bodycam, than actually dealing with the problems.



But, the key thing is that, from a Liverpool point of view, it was three more points in what is likely to be a long, difficult season. The performance may not have been great, but it usually takes a while for teams to get up to speed and it is rare teams that start playing well in the first few games maintain it. And, if you can't enjoy a moment like Rio Ngumoha's last gasp goal in a difficult away match to win it, well then you may as well stop watching football. That is the kind of moment that makes the sport so special. It is a moment that will be remembered for years to come.



One last thing, I saw a piece by an ex-referee saying that this game needs to be investigated because of the amount of time the ball was in play. It was the least amount of time in a Premier League match since the days of Stoke City. However, he immediately tried to remove any blame from Simon Hooper for that, when he is mainly responsible for it. It was his weakness that led to so many free kicks being given. It was his inability to tell the time that led to him not putting enough added time on the end of each half. It was him that allowed the game to degenerate into a slugfest. Hooper set the tone from the outset by not clamping down hard at the beginning. I agree it needs to be investigated by the PGMOL, but not with the mindset that the officials did no wrong. Instead they should purely be interested in what the officials can do to improve matters. Instead they are only interested in covering their own arses and claiming they got every decision right, when everyone watching saw them get it hopelessly wrong!







Newcastle United





It was clear last season that Howe had decided the way forward for Newcastle was to utilise power and try to bully the opposition. This season he has doubled down on that. In this game, Howe decided to go full 1980s Wimbledon and just pump everything possible into the box and hope for a break. He seems to have become fixated on how effective Burn can be, with his height, and is just building everything around that as his tactics. It is quite worrying at the start of the season that a number of teams seem to be going back to the old long-ball tactics of lumping it up to a big man and looking for bits and pieces. Newcastle looked so much more effective when they play the ball out wide and crossed it in. Yes, they were still using longer balls, but it was not just for someone to fight for, but an actual pass into an area a wide man should be able to collect it first if they are alert. It does seem like Howe has panicked with no Isak and Wilson to play up front and is not confident that the current front three will get the goals.



The intensity had been cranked up for this game, the Newcastle players were really up for it, but that manifested a lot of the time as intentional fouls. From the start it seemed like they were far more interested in leaving something on a Liverpool player than getting the ball. Trippier launched himself in studs first at Wirtz within the first few minutes set the tone. They were lucky that Simon Hooper is a weak referee as Guimaraes could easily have already had a number of yellows before being booked and afterwards continued to tackle wildly. Even after Hooper gave him a final warning, he went in over the ball and made numerous reckless challenges that would normally have been a yellow. That did the Toon no favours though, as, apart from the red card, they picked up injuries with their reckless challenges and Tonali managed to hurt his shoulder after a couple attempts to foul failed and he threw himself to the ground looking for a free kick. I think that one was karma!



That intensity and bullying style did allow them to put real pressure on Liverpool and keep them from getting on the ball and playing the way they want to. So I would think Howe will probably see his tactics as being successful, despite the defeat. Personally, I just feel that they could have paired the intensity and physicality with a bit more brains, rather than just going for more brawn and going down easily looking for free kicks to launch into the box. Just a little bit more variety in their play could have been the difference for them. After all, there is a reason why Stoke City under Tony Pulis, though always competitive never actually competed for league titles. I am not sure this style is the way to move the club forward, but it seems to be the style favoured judging by the attempts to sign 6ft 4inch tall Strand-Larsen from Wolverhampton Wanderers.







Liverpool





Alisson - was put under some severe pressure at times and mostly dealt with it well. Between him and Virgil, most of the aerial bombardment was dealt with safely. There were a couple of times he got crowded out when coming for the ball, but mostly he was very good.





Szoboszlai - had an excellent game at right-back, despite it being an unfamiliar position to him. He kept Barnes quiet. Then he popped up at the end, after moving back to midfield, with a lovely dummy to draw away the defender to give Ngumoha time and space to place the winner.





Konate - another rank rotten performance. This season he has played like a player whose head is elsewhere. His 'defending' on the second goal was embarrassing. He simply cannot handle physicality, despite being such a big, powerful guy. His head goes and he starts grabbing and pulling. He was lucky that referees are now looking to see whether a forward is going to get on the ball or not before giving fouls, as he would have been picking up a second yellow in previous years. This season however, we have seen it already a few times with penalties not given as the player held was not going to get on the ball. Not convinced it is a good idea, it just seems to be another excuse for weak referees to avoid making a decision or for VAR to hide behind.





van Dijk - a proper captain's performance. I lost count of the times he headed the ball away, even though he was usually giving away a few inches in height to Burn or up against multiple Newcastle players. He looked back to his best. His timing was there and his positional sense saved Liverpool a few times. Man of the match in my opinion.





Kerkez - was badly at fault on the first goal turning his back before the ball was played in. He is still young though, so that is something that can be worked on in training for the future. Play the ball, not the man. Other than that, he had a restrained game trying to contain the threat of Elanga, rather than being given the freedom to bomb forward.





Jones - put in a shift but struggled to get on the ball and make anything happen. Newcastle were working so hard that it was difficult for him to play the way he likes to.





Gravenberch - despite picking up an early booking, he was able to mix it in the midfield for the rest of the game. Had a good game, but never really got to do much more than defend, so never got to play to his strengths enough. Despite that, he was able to pop up on the edge of the Newcastle box to score his first goal of the season.





Wirtz - he has not yet made the hoped for impact in English football, but it is little surprise that he struggled in this match. This was not a game for skill, the referee made sure of that by allowing Trippier to stud him on the very first challenge he received. He was not given a moment to do anything, though he never stopped trying. His work rate was excellent.





Salah - found it difficult to impact the game until right at the end when he popped up with the ball across for Rio to finish. However, as usual he was handicapped by the opposition being allowed to manhandle and kick him at will, but the moment he so much as breathes in the direction of a defender they are given a free kick. There has always been an odd bias against from referees, but it seems more pronounced this season.





Gakpo - despite being very closely marked, he ended the game with 2 assists. Worked hard, but needed some help on the wing when getting forward, which he barely received.





Ekitike - a very good game and showed he has the physicality to deal with attempts to rough him up. It did not phase him at all and his finish for the second almost right after half-time was very cool. Ekitike is impressing me more and more each game.





Bradley - replaced Wirtz in the 80th minute. Had a fair bit of the play, but did not do well. Gave away a silly needless foul which gave Newcastle a chance to put it into the mixer and they equalised from it.





Chiesa - was brought on in the stead of Ekitike in the 80th minute. Was unable to really get involved, though he worked hard to try and do something.





Elliott - replaced Jones in the 90th+5 minute. Struggled to make any impression on the game, as Newcastle were missing out midfield and just lumping it forward into the mixer.





Ngumoha - came on in the 90+5th minute, taking the place of Gakpo. Despite him and Elliott having to wait a good five minutes to get on, Ngumoha showed no signs of nerves at all and played with freedom. Great finish for the goal as well.





Endo - took the place of Salah in the 90+11th minute. I am not even sure if he touched the ball, he barely got on the pitch before it ended.

30 Aug 2025 00:16:18
Great summary, pretty much my thoughts on the game from a fellow Bootle boy 😎.