Liverpool stars come under heavy criticism after vital loss against Manchester United. Fans were hoping for a turnaround after a hattrick of losses away from home. But an uninspired performance led to United’s first win at Anfield since 2016.
Manchester United scored early on in the second-minute of the game. Bryan Mbuemo finding the net with Liverpool’s backline caught napping. Cody Gakpo found the equaliser in the 78th minute, after hitting the woodwork twice earlier. But Harry Maguire rose to occasion, heading in the winner from Bruno Fernandes’s lobbed volley in the 84th.
Several stars have come under fire. From dropping Mohamed Salah to a non-vigilant Virgil Van Djik, even the older stars are facing the ire. But two new signings have come under special attention from pundits.
Pundits flay Liverpool stars
Gary Neville thinks Milos Kerkez plays like a 10-year old (Credits: Imago Images)
Milos Kerkez and Alexander Isak both joined Liverpool during the summer transfer window. While Kerkez commanded a £40m fee from Bournemouth, Isak broke the British transfer record. A total £125m was paid to Newcastle for the Swede.
The Hungarian left-back struggled to cope with Amad Diallo and Matheus Cunha. Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast, the former United defender tore into the backline, “The individual performances of Liverpool’s defenders and decision-making was really poor.”
“The left-back has not settled in. I said on this podcast three weeks ago that he plays like a 10-year-old left-back. He’s all over the place,” making his opinion on Kerkez quite clear.
Another United legend takes aim at Liverpool
Gary Neville wasn’t the only ex-Red Devil to take potshots at Anfield. Former England striker Wayne Rooney too did the same on his podcast.
Rooney said he would bench Isak and play Hugo Ekitike in his place. “I wouldn’t play Isak, he hasn’t looked ready since coming from Newcastle,” he quipped.
“He hasn’t trained, hasn’t had a preseason. It’s so important. While Newcastle were training he was probably sat at home on the phone to his agent for six hours a day trying to get a move.”, coming down heavy on Isak’s long drawn transfer saga.
“It’s so difficult when you don’t have a preseason. He might’ve done stuff by himself but he’s paying the price of it.”
“On performances, he doesn’t deserve to be playing ahead of Ekitike.”, clearly stating his preference for the Frenchman.
The criticism though is not without reason. The striker has scored just once in seven games for the club, with his four Premier League appearances coming a cropper.
