Jason McAteer admits he has one ‘big concern’ about Liverpool after what he saw at Anfield against Wolves

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Liverpool saw off the challenge of Wolves as they squeezed to a 2-1 win on Sunday afternoon.

Back at Anfield after a hectic Merseyside Derby on Wednesday, the Reds had been expected to comfortably beat Vitor Pereira’s relegation battlers.

After racing into a two goal lead in the first-half, Liverpool looked like they would live up to that billing.

But things went awry in the second period. Wolves never gave up and after getting some joy against a sloppy looking Liverpool, they easily could have clawed back those two goals.

Virgil van Dijk praised Matheus Cunha after the game and Pereira’s talisman had the beating of his counterparts in red all day long. Worryingly, he was not the only one.

And watching on from a nervous Anfield, former Liverpool player Jason McAteer admitted to being ‘concerned’ about one aspect in particular of the home team’s display.

Jason McAteer concerned over Liverpool tiredness

Liverpool have not always been swashbuckling under Arne Slot. The Reds may be clear at the top of the Premier League table, but they have had to grind out results at times.

Nevertheless, no matter how poorly they’ve been playing, there has usually been a feeling that Liverpool could still create something at a moment’s notice.

On Sunday there was none of that. And speaking to LFCTV pitch-side after the final whistle, McAteer suggested that Slot’s lack of rotation of the Liverpool squad could be catching up to the players.

“The big concern for me was Arne Slot’s team selection in the first half of the season, it was very consistent,” explained the pundit.

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“Now, I understand that because a new manager comes in, he wants to implement his own style and he’s going to play his best players, I get that, [but] he’s still new to the Premier League. In Jurgen Klopp’s first season he got to January and the team just went because of the amount of work they went through in the first half of the season.

“I just think Liverpool looked tired at times, certainly in that second-half,” McAteer added.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	25	18	6	1	60	24	36	60
2	ArsenalArsenal	25	15	8	2	51	22	29	53
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	25	14	5	6	41	29	12	47
4	Man CityManchester City	25	13	5	7	52	35	17	44

“I thought it against Everton a little bit and I thought it again today. They lost control in midfield, they backed off, the crowd started turning a little bit, it all started getting a little nervous and Liverpool just couldn’t find that gear that they had in the first half of the season to compete.

“They get themselves back into it, Wolves, and I think the last 10 or 15 minutes they [Liverpool] struggled.”

Rotation needed for Liverpool

There’s little debate that Liverpool looked tired against Wolves. As the visitors relentlessly searched for an equaliser, several players appeared dead on their feet.

With three massive games coming up over the next nine days, that doesn’t bode especially well.

What is a concern is that there is not really one of the matches where Slot can afford to rest his biggest players.

Villa away is tough, City away is tougher and although Newcastle have a terrible record at Anfield, they are never a soft touch.

Liverpool do have a week off after the Newcastle game on February 26th. But Slot is going to have to think outside the box to keep everyone as fresh as possible to pick up what could be some season-defining results.