Liverpool were better for large chunks of their match against Manchester City on Sunday but still fell to a disappointing defeat.
The Reds should perhaps have come away with an important victory after dominating the second-half, but they could not press home their advantage after Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning opener.
In the end, it was the same old story for Liverpool: undone by a stoppage-time winner.
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The Reds have now conceded four goals to lose games in added time this season, the joint-most by a team in a single Premier League campaign in the competition’s history. There are still 13 matches left to play.
It was a tough one to take for every Liverpool supporter watching, and as he attempted to dissect another miserable evening at Anfield, former Reds full-back Steve Nicol left the blame at the door of Arne Slot.
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One of the biggest problems Slot has had this season is that his team have been far too slow in their play. The Anfield crowd want to see fast, attacking football and the Dutchman is serving up anything but.
Nevertheless, after a poor first-half against City, Liverpool were markedly better after the break. They had much more intensity in their build-up and were rewarded with a goal.
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Having got themselves ahead with 15 minutes to play, there looked like being only one winner. But Liverpool suddenly stopped doing what had given them a foothold in the game and retreated further down the pitch. City soon came back, and according to Nicol, this left him fuming.
“I’ve never seen a Liverpool side as negative, sitting on the edge of their box at Anfield against anybody. That’s what they did, they took no part in the game,” he told ESPN FC in regard to the first-half.
“I think what made me the angriest of all was that after Szoboszlai scored they’ve got the momentum, they’ve got City by the throat, they go and sit on top of their box again. They completely just stood off.”
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“The first half 100 per cent is Slot’s doing. I think the fact that Liverpool have lost so many goals this season the way they have, players automatically take a step back but that’s when the manager has to step in and say ‘get yourself up’. That was the biggest thing that annoyed me. You go ahead, the game’s there for you, you took a step back, sit on top of your box and then it falls apart.”
Liverpool must shake off fear of losing
At 1-0, City had genuinely looked beaten. With their title hopes seemingly done and dusted, the fight had very nearly gone.
This should have been a moment when Liverpool were full of confidence, but instead they looked stricken by the fear of conceding.
Far too often this season this team have seemed to forget who they are. They are the champions of England, a team who can – and should – beat anyone on any given day. This year they have looked afraid of virtually every opposition they have faced.
There is good reason for that and it is hard to shake that mentality when you have already lost so many times in such a short period. But at some point the monkey has to be thrown from the back. Sunday could have been that for Liverpool.
Instead, they did retreat and in doing so they inflicted yet another wound on themselves and their beleaguered fanbase. This cannot keep happening and yet, miserably, it does.
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