The time has come to start judging Alexander Isak fairly as a ÂŁ125 million Anfield attacker, Arne Slot stated on the weekend. As such, judgment must be harsh, but as the UK's costliest footballer sat alongside Mohamed Salah on the Reds bench while the English top-flight champions tried in vain to force an leveler against their rivals in their absence, it was not the manager's underperforming forward line that deserved the strongest blame at the stadium. The team's backline structure has vanished.
Indeed, Isak was predominantly anonymous in the centre-forward position and the Egyptian winger subpar once more as his difficulties persisted against the team he often scores against. The Swedish player had his initial shot on target in the Premier League as a Reds member in the 35th minute, excellently denied by the opposition's new goalkeeper Senne Lammens. The forward wasted a glorious after the break opportunity in front of the Kop and could not protest when their substitution came up. Cody Gakpo also struck the woodwork on multiple occasions and inexplicably was unable to net a second shortly after the defender's winner.
It ought to have been impossible for Liverpool to lose a game in which they generated plenty of chances, Slot stated. But it is possible with a backline in current state, as Crystal Palace, Chelsea and currently United have demonstrated.
As he presided over a fourth straight defeat as the club's head coach, the first person to achieve this after Brendan Rodgers in November 2014, Slot must have been frustrated at a backline effort that allowed United to dominate as well as their first victory at Anfield in nearly a decade. Filled with the same mistakes that Liverpool’s coaching staff had focused on eradicating after the international break, featuring another dead-ball score, it was a performance that totally derailed the title holders' after halftime recovery and cost them the game.
Momentum was at last with the hosts when the substitute equalized Bryan Mbeumo’s early opener. The Merseyside club could feel another last-minute victory with replacements one attacker, Curtis Jones and another forward sparking improvement and the opposition in retreat. Instead, it was another last-gasp Premier League loss, the third straight, after Liverpool’s dead-ball frailties re-emerged and the defender found himself one of three United players unmarked past the centre-back in the 84th minute.
A powerful goal into the net that the player blazed over in the dying seconds of last season’s tie gave the United manager the best win of his turbulent club tenure. For all the criticism around Amorim it was his squad that played with clear purpose and a well-executed approach for the majority of a thrilling encounter. The first consecutive league wins of Amorim’s reign were the result. The Liverpool side again looked like unfamiliar at points, especially when conceding a dead-ball goal for the fifth occasion in the division the current campaign.
The home side were exposed from the inception to the execution of Mbeumo’s quick-fire opener. There was no purchase on the initial attempt from the captain, a likely consequence of having to go through two players to reach the pass, to be fair, and no pressure on Bruno Fernandes when he took possession and released Amad Diallo in open area on the right flank. the defender was late to respond, Van Dijk delayed to recover and mark Mbeumo’s run while Giorgi Mamardashvili, deputising for the unavailable Alisson in goal, was easily beaten from the angle.
The manager could justifiably question his head and ask where the whistle was from the referee, an referee with whom he has a feisty past, but also question the concentration and coordination among his defenders. The forward's strike means Slot’s team have kept only two shutouts in 12 matches this season, the most recent occurring many matches ago at another ground.
United carved open the left side frequently in a opening period in which Fernandes, Mason Mount and even the attacker all nearly scored to increasing the visitors’ lead. Sending the winger early against Kerkez was obviously part of the manager's strategy. It succeeded time and again in the opening half. The £40m new arrival from Bournemouth endured a further tough match in a club shirt. Set-pieces were also a problem for the previous player's chosen successor, who almost sent Mbeumo in on goal while attempting one interception. The defender and Van Dijk appear on different wavelengths at the moment.
“We take a many gambles,” the head coach commented after the opposition's victory. “After the second half we had six or seven offensive players on the pitch. That’s maybe why our structure for the set-piece was less organized as we typically are. Normally we would have additional defending personnel on the pitch. Perhaps it is a fluke but it is no justification. The team understands we have to improve.”
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