After thumping Manchester United 7-0 last season in a game for the ages, Liverpool’s bore draw against the very same side on Sunday is one they will want to forget very quickly.
Given Liverpool’s form. Manchester United being in all sorts of bother. Injuries and suspensions to Erik ten Hag’s side. And the recent results in this fixture.
Then many expected Liverpool to win yesterday, but at the very least, put the ball into the back of the net.
But Paul Scholes thinks Jurgen Klopp’s side simply didn’t help themselves by taking shots from ’stupid places’, as he highlighted Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harvey Elliott and Cody Gakpo, as he told Premier League Productions (17/12/23 at 7:00 pm).
The fact that Liverpool had 34 shots on Andre Onana’s goal, yet they were only able to muster eight efforts on target, tells its own story.
There did seem to be a bit of over-eagerness from the Liverpool players, as well as just poor decision-making and abject play in the final third.
All of which didn’t impress Paul Scholes and he thinks Jurgen Klopp’s feelings on it all will be pretty clear.
Liverpool’s shots against Manchester United
“I think he (Klopp) will be really disappointed given the place Man United were in,” said Scholes.
“There was a real lack of quality from his team. He was right to talk about the media influence as well, it helps Man United more than it helps Liverpool.
“It felt like when you are playing against a bad team, you think ‘I can score’. It almost felt like kid’s football. They were shooting from anywhere. Shooting from stupid places.
“Salah’s trying to shoot through people. Harvey Elliott came on and had a shot from a strange place. Gakpo, at times as well. Alexander-Arnold, at times. It helped Man United, it really did.”
Liverpool can’t always rely on Mohamed Salah
The Egypt star is Liverpool’s most important player and one of the best in Europe, no doubt.
Yes, even a man of his standards and quality could be criticised for his weekend performance, but given his level of consistency, he is allowed an off day.
That’s why others, such as the under-fire Darwin Nunez, need to step up and start showcasing their worth a lot more now.
This isn’t like last season when the Reds were outside of the top four and struggling to push themselves back in.
They are going for the Premier League title again and a more ruthless nature is needed.
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