Sky Sports reporter mocks Liverpool after Man Utd loss – Slot’s tactical disasterclass needs more condemnation

Liverpool have been plunged into something of a mini-crisis after Sunday’s home loss to Manchester United condemned the side to a fourth straight defeat and worst run of since the Brendan Rodgers era – and Arne Slot needs to take a big share of the blame.

The Reds went into the game hoping their woeful form leading up to the international break, which had seen them lose two Premier League games in London to Crystal Palace and Chelsea, either side of a Champions League loss to Galatasaray, would soon be put behind them. In meeting the inconsistent Manchester United, Liverpool will have hoped they’d have had the perfect opportunity to do just that.

However, Harry Maguire’s late winner, courtesy of his famous forehead after an exquisite lofted, volleyed cross from Bruno Fernandes, ensured a fourth straight defeat for the first time since November 2014. United’s 2-1 victory was their first at Anfield since January 2016 and the single best moment of the Ruben Amorim era so far.

But for Liverpool, a loss to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday would make it five in a row – something that has not been seen at Anfield since 1953!

Quite simply, Liverpool are struggling to find any cohesion and rhythm right now, despite spending huge sums this summer on trying to strengthen their side.

Instead, the opposite seems to have happened, and, off the back of their miserable run, the Reds have been plunged into a self-inflicted mini-crisis, which Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie could not resist taking a jibe at in a cruel 15-word post on social media.

“Quite incredible that Liverpool spent £450 million in the summer — and made the team worse!” Downie said on X.

But how much does Slot need to take blame for their disastrous run of form? And it’s probably fair to say that his somewhat kamikazee tactics against United on Sunday played no small part in their downfall….

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Panicked Arne Slot’s tactics played part in 2-1 defeat 

Trailing 1-0 to Bryan Mbeumo’s very early goal, in the words of Sky Sports commentator, Peter Drury, Slot “hit the red button” after 62 minutes with a triple change that completely altered the shape of Liverpool’s line-up.

And while Curtis Jones for Ryan Gravenberch was a like-for-like replacement, the arrival of Florian Wirtz for Alexis Mac Allister and Hugo Ekitike for Conor Bradley transformed their formation into a somewhat unconventional 3-2-5.

That all-out attack, which saw Cody Gakpo, Ekitike, Alexander Isak and Mo Salah across the frontline, with Wirtz just in behind, did open up the game – but did leave them brutally exposed in both midfield and defence.

When Federico Chiesa was also introduced to the action on 72 minutes, albeit as a replacement for the ineffective Isak, the Italian’s arrival was best summed up by two moments.

Firstly, on co-comms, Jamie Carragher joked he’s “probably been brought on to play centre-back”, before the Italian and Salah got in one another’s way when a cross came over to them at the back post.

While Chiesa’s clever turn and cross did lead to a leveller for Gakpo, it looked like the decision had paid off and there would have been many in the crowd who’d have expected Liverpool to then go on and win the game.

However, they were still left brutally exposed at the back and, as Gary Neville had pointed out, “it feels like there is something here for United, it really does” and when he pre-empted their winner by stating “United will get another big chance here”, he was certainly not wrong.

In truth, the way Slot had set Liverpool up had played a significant part in their downfall and the manager needs to take some accountability for their latest failure and hitting the panic button in the manner he did.

Latest Liverpool news: Slot deciding on future of long-serving star; Romano on Guehi move

Meanwhile, a high-profile Liverpool star’s future is reaching a crossroads, and one source claims Slot will have a big say in whether a departure is sanctioned and amid growing links to a LaLiga club for the player, who was an unused substitute in Sunday’s defeat.

On the incoming front, Nico Schlotterbeck has justified Liverpool’s interest in him by producing a solid performance against Bayern Munich, with the Borussia Dortmund star also suggesting whether he would be open to a move to Anfield in 2026 and linking up with Slot.

Elsewhere, Fabrizio Romano has answered the one question that keeps being put to him regarding Marc Guehi potentially joining Liverpool in 2026 – and having revealed why the Reds are no better placed than several of the Crystal Palace star’s other major suitors.

How many trophies will Liverpool win this season?