🔗 Share this article

The time has come to begin evaluating Alexander Isak justly as a record-breaking Anfield centre forward, the Liverpool head coach stated on the weekend. As such, the assessment should be critical, but as Britain’s most expensive player sat alongside Mohamed Salah on the Reds substitutes while the English top-flight title holders tried in vain to secure an equaliser versus their rivals without them, it was not the manager's misfiring offence that earned the fiercest scrutiny at the stadium. The team's defence has evaporated.

Quiet Display from Key Forwards

Indeed, the Swedish striker was predominantly unnoticeable in the centre-forward position and Salah disappointing again as his individual toils persisted versus the club he usually plunders. The Swedish international had his first attempt on goal in the Premier League as a Reds member in the first half, excellently denied by the opposition's new shot-stopper the young keeper. Salah wasted a excellent second-half chance facing the home end and neither protest when their substitution were shown. The Dutch attacker also struck the crossbar on multiple occasions and inexplicably failed to score a second shortly after Harry Maguire’s winner.

Impossible Defeat In Spite of Opportunities

It seemed unthinkable for the hosts to be defeated in a game in which they generated so many opportunities, the manager claimed. But it is not impossible with a defence in current state, as Crystal Palace, another rival and currently Manchester United have demonstrated.

Backline Collapse During Scrutiny

While overseeing a fourth straight loss as the club's manager, the first man to do so after a previous manager in years past, Slot must have been frustrated at a backline effort that allowed United to take the initiative as well as their first victory at Anfield in nearly a decade. Littered with the repeated issues that the team's management had worked on solving following the pause, including yet another dead-ball score, it was a performance that completely derailed the champions’ second half recovery and lost them the game.

Momentum Lost Despite Improvement

Momentum was at last with the home side when the substitute equalized Bryan Mbeumo’s early breakthrough. Liverpool could feel one more late victory with substitutes one attacker, Curtis Jones and another forward sparking improvement and the opposition in defensive mode. Rather, it was a further last-gasp top-flight loss, the third straight, after the team's dead-ball weaknesses re-emerged and the defender found himself one of three opposition members unmarked past the centre-back in the closing stages.

Purposeful Rivals Excel

A powerful goal into the net that Maguire missed in the dying seconds of the previous campaign's tie gave the United manager the best victory of his challenging United reign. For all the negativity around the coach it was his squad that performed with obvious strategy and a smartly implemented approach for the bulk of a thrilling encounter. The initial consecutive league wins of the manager's reign were the result. Slot’s team again appeared like strangers at points, particularly when allowing a dead-ball score for the fifth time in the division the current campaign.

Quick Goal Reveals Defensive Flaws

Liverpool were lacking from the start to the execution of Mbeumo’s quick-fire opener. There was no purchase on the initial attempt from Virgil van Dijk, a likely result of having to go through opponents to reach the ball, admittedly, and little challenge on the playmaker when he received the ball and released the winger in space on the right flank. Milos Kerkez was late to respond, the centre-back slow to track back and follow Mbeumo’s run while Giorgi Mamardashvili, filling in for the injured Alisson in goal, was comfortably beaten from the angle.

Officiating and Concentration Issues

Slot could reasonably point to his decisions and wonder where the whistle was from Michael Oliver, an official with whom he has a feisty past, but also question the focus and coordination among his backline. The forward's goal indicates the team have kept only two clean sheets in 12 matches this season, the most recent occurring many matches ago at Burnley.

Repeated Targeting of Defensive Side

The visitors carved open the left side repeatedly in a first half in which the midfielder, Mason Mount and even the attacker all nearly scored to doubling the visitors’ advantage. Sending the winger early against Kerkez was clearly in the manager's gameplan. It succeeded repeatedly in the first 45 minutes. The £40 million summer signing from Bournemouth experienced a further tough match in a Liverpool shirt. Set-pieces were even a problem for the previous player's chosen successor, who nearly put Mbeumo in on goal while making an challenge. Kerkez and the captain seem on different wavelengths at present.

Coach's Analysis and Acknowledgment

“We take a lot of gambles,” the head coach explained after the opposition's win. “After the 62nd minute we had six or seven offensive members on the pitch. That’s perhaps why our organization for the dead-ball was not as perfect as we usually are. Normally we would have more defending personnel on the field. Perhaps it is a fluke but it is no justification. The team understands we have to improve.”