January 17th 2016 was the last time Liverpool lost a game of football at Anfield to their dear old rivals.
That day it was a Wayne Rooney strike that sealed the win for Manchester United over the Reds. How times have changed since then. Liverpool have won the league on two occasions; their friends across the way have not.
Ruben Amorim came into this clash with slim hopes. Yes, Liverpool were in a rough run of form but United’s own form has been troublesome ever since the Portuguese took over.
Yet, for the first time during his tenure, they were able to secure back-to-back league victories. Perhaps Amorim is the right man for the job?
Regardless of the feeling among the Red Devils, questions may now be emerging about Arne Slot’s position.
This 2-1 defeat was a really tough one to swallow. Liverpool hit the post on a few occasions and registered a higher xG (expected goals) tally but failed to take their opportunities.
Cody Gakpo equalised but a late Harry Maguire header condemned the hosts to a third straight league defeat.
They are now four points behind Arsenal in the race for the Premier League title. It’s worrying, certainly when you consider just how much they spent over the summer.
So, where did it all go wrong?
What went for Liverpool against Manchester United
Well, where to begin? When things aren’t going your way, curious things happen, and that was certainly the case for Slot’s charges on Sunday evening.
Before scoring from close range in the second half, Gakpo hit the woodwork a staggering three times, the most notable came in the opening 45 minutes when Liverpool surged forward on the counter-attack.
The Dutchman found plenty of room to surge towards the penalty area but bent his shot against the post.
Liverpool could and should have equalised sooner. On another day, they win the game, such are the slim margins of Premier League football.
It wasn’t just their lacklustre finishing that cost them, however. Last term, the Reds were resilient and rock solid at the back but they are really paying the price for not investing further in the centre-back pairing.
Milos Kerkez has signed but is still struggling to get going in Liverpool colours with Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo – the scorer of United’s first goal – running rings around him.
Yet, skipper Virgil van Dijk is perhaps the most worrying of the lot, given his experience. Not for the first time in a game this term he was caught out and should have done better for the opening goal.
Mbeumo was allowed to ghost in behind the big Dutchman and he got on the end of Amad’s cute pass to fire home.
Whether Van Dijk has regressed is very much up for debate but perhaps a more pressing matter is the form of the Premier League’s most expensive signing.
Liverpool’s biggest problem after Man United defeat
In the summer, Liverpool looked as though they had won the transfer window. £116m for Florian Wirtz? Don’t mind if we do. £125m for Alexander Isak? Yeah, go on then.
The Swede was at the centre of an almighty saga. He refused to go on Newcastle’s pre-season tour and then trained away from the Toon’s first-team squad for a few months before finally getting his move to Anfield.
However, since heading to Merseyside, he has scored just once, ultimately battling with fitness having not featured at all during pre-season.
Well, heading into the game with United, Slot declared that now was the time to judge him. “Fitness-wise he is close to the level he should be and we can judge him in a fair way from now on.”
Judge him is exactly what we shall do. Unfortunately, it was not a great showing from the Premier League’s record man.
For the sixth straight game, the centre forward failed to find the net and arguably, he should have done inside Anfield this weekend.
Isak had two shots and missed one OPTA-defined big chance, one of which he stuck straight at Senne Lammens’ right boot. It was unsurprising he left the game with a 4/10 match rating courtesy of GOAL, who rightfully suggested that the striker will be “hugely disappointed with his performance.”
Isak vs Man United
Minutes played
72
Touches
19
Accurate passes
7/11 (64%)
Key passes
0
Shots
2
Shots on target
1
Expected goals
0.34
Big chances missed
1
Dribbles
0
Possession lost
8x
Stats via Sofascore.
At Newcastle last season, when the goals were flowing, he’d definitely have scored, such is his ruthless nature. You can point to a lack of sharpness but as Slot says, he’s now ready to go.
It’s incredibly difficult to leave your biggest signing of all time on the bench but Isak’s lack of form has had consequences, notably for Hugo Ekitike, arguably Liverpool’s player of the season so far.
He bagged five goals in his first eight games of the season for the Reds and registered an assist as well.
The Frenchman was ruthless in the final third; he was everything Isak has been over the last few seasons and he looked the full package doing it.
It’s perhaps no coincidence that since Ekitike became less of a regular starter Liverpool’s form has dwindled. During Isak’s three Premier League starts, Slot’s side have lost all three. It’s time for Ekitike to get a run from the start instead in the Champions League on Wednesday in Frankfurt.
