Liverpool fans haven’t been shy about assigning blame for the capitulation against Man City, which ended the Reds’ FA Cup hopes and left just the Champions League to contend for.
There is the temptation to put Saturday afternoon out of our heads, but there was a lot to dissect from the 4-0 loss. Arne Slot’s decisions, Virgil van Dijk’s wavering consistency, or whether Mo Salah’s farewell tour warrants him starting.
Is it time for Van Dijk to join Salah this summer and leave Liverpool?
The errors are beginning to pile up…
Readers of Rousing The Kop have been discussing the City game on TalkingPoints, listing who they think is most at fault for the embarrassing loss.
Liverpool fans on three players at fault against Man City
The first, and by far the most popular choice was Salah. He missed the penalty as well as a couple of gilt-edged chances, lacking that finishing touch yet again.
One fan said apologetically: “Mo unfortunately. The penalty miss just topped it off. I wish he’d left on a high last season, it’s just sad to see now.”
The sentiment was echoed again by this fan, who said: “Salah. How many times does he cut in and blaze miles over the bar these days?”
Salah is leaving at the end of the season, and all fans want to show him gratitude for his nine-year career at Anfield — but his minutes should still be determined by his performances like anyone else. At the moment, they are not good.
A more surprising, but warranted criticism is aimed at one of Liverpool’s number nines: “It’s Ekitike for me. If he scores at 0-0 we might have even won that today. Lack of killer instinct has hurt us so many times.”
Another didn’t appreciate Ekitike’s decision to swap shirts with Rayan Cherki during the middle of the game. They asked: Why is Ekitike swapping shirts with Cherki when his team are 4-0 down?”
The last player mentioned was the captain. This fan states: “Van Dijk was responsible for at least 2 goals.”
They were three of the disappointing ones, but far from the only Liverpool players who deserve scrutiny. Honestly, they all could have been slotted into this debate. As for Slot though, his name hasn’t stopped being mentioned since the woes of Saturday.
- READ MORE: Paul Joyce suggests FSG could be about to turn on Arne Slot as Liverpool face crucial period
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
