Defensive Problems Pose Greater Challenge for Slot Than Making Isak and Mohamed Salah to Perform

The time has come to begin evaluating Alexander Isak justly as a £125m Liverpool striker, the Liverpool head coach remarked on the weekend. In that case, judgment must be harsh, but as the UK's most expensive player sat alongside Mohamed Salah on the Liverpool substitutes while the English top-flight champions struggled to force an leveler versus their rivals in their absence, it was not the manager's misfiring offence that earned the harshest scrutiny at the stadium. The team's defensive foundation has disappeared.

Quiet Performance from Key Forwards

Indeed, the Swedish striker was mostly unnoticeable in the centre-forward position and Salah disappointing again as his personal struggles continued versus the team he usually plunders. The Swedish international had his initial attempt on goal in the Premier League as a Reds player in the first half, smartly stopped by United’s latest goalkeeper the young keeper. Salah wasted a golden after the break chance in front of the Kop and neither complain when their numbers were shown. The Dutch attacker also struck the crossbar on multiple occasions and inexplicably was unable to score a another goal moments after Harry Maguire’s winner.

Unthinkable Defeat Despite Chances

It should have been unthinkable for Liverpool to be defeated in a match in which they generated so many opportunities, the manager stated. But it is not impossible with a defence in such condition, as Crystal Palace, Chelsea and currently United have demonstrated.

Backline Breakdown Under Pressure

As he presided over a fourth straight defeat as the club's manager, the first man to do so after Brendan Rodgers in November 2014, the coach must have felt dismayed at a defensive performance that allowed United to seize control as well as their first victory at Anfield since January 2016. Filled with the repeated issues that the team's management had focused on solving after the international break, featuring yet another dead-ball score, it was a performance that completely undermined the title holders' after halftime recovery and lost them the match.

Advantage Squandered Despite Improvement

The upper hand was finally with the home side when Gakpo equalized the forward's early opener. Liverpool could sense another late victory with substitutes one attacker, a midfielder and Federico Chiesa igniting progress and United in defensive mode. Rather, it was another last-gasp top-flight loss, the third straight, after the team's dead-ball frailties re-emerged and Maguire found himself among several opposition players unmarked behind the centre-back in the 84th minute.

Organized Rivals Excel

A thumping header into the net that the player blazed over in the final moments of the previous campaign's 2-2 draw gave Ruben Amorim the best win of his challenging United tenure. Despite the criticism surrounding the coach it was his squad that performed with obvious strategy and a smartly implemented approach for the majority of a compelling contest. The first back-to-back league wins of the manager's time in charge were the result. The Liverpool side again looked like unfamiliar at times, especially when allowing a set-piece score for the fifth occasion in the division this season.

Early Goal Reveals Backline Flaws

The home side were exposed from the start to the execution of the attacker's quick-fire first goal. There was no purchase on the first header from the captain, a likely result of having to go through opponents to reach the ball, admittedly, and no pressure on the playmaker when he received the ball and passed to the winger in open area on the right flank. Milos Kerkez was late to respond, the centre-back slow to recover and follow the forward's movement while the goalkeeper, filling in for the injured first-choice keeper in net, was easily beaten from the angle.

Officiating and Concentration Questions

Slot could reasonably question his decisions and wonder where the whistle was from Michael Oliver, an referee with whom he has a feisty history, but also doubt the focus and coordination levels his backline. The forward's strike means Slot’s side have managed only a couple of clean sheets in a dozen games this season, the most recent occurring many matches ago at Burnley.

Constant Exploitation of Defensive Side

The visitors carved open the left side repeatedly in a first half in which Fernandes, another player and even Gakpo all nearly scored to doubling the away team's lead. Sending the winger quickly against Kerkez was clearly in Amorim’s strategy. It worked time and again in the opening half. The £40m new arrival from Bournemouth experienced another tough evening in a Liverpool shirt. Throw-ins were also a problem for the previous player's chosen successor, who almost sent the forward through while making an challenge. Kerkez and Van Dijk seem on not in sync at the moment.

Manager’s Explanation and Acknowledgment

“We take a lot of gambles,” the head coach explained after the opposition's victory. “After the 62nd minute we had multiple offensive players on the pitch. That’s maybe why our structure for the dead-ball was less organized as we usually are. Normally we would have additional defending players on the pitch. Perhaps it is a fluke but it is not an excuse. We know we have to do better.”