Fuming Gerrard insists four Liverpool stars should never be playing together
Liverpool suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat at home to PSV Eindhoven as problems worsened for Arne Slot – and it’s fair to say Steven Gerrard was far from impressed
Steven Gerrard has slammed Liverpool’s defensive structure after their 4-1 defeat to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League. The Reds icon says that the backline that finished against the Eredivisie giants will “never be” a Liverpool back four after Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch joined Virgil van Dijk and Milos Kerkez.
Liverpool have now lost nine of their last 12 matches in all competitions, and in each of their last three, they have lost by a three-goal margin. The problems are stacking up for Arne Slot as they border on a crisis with their Premier League defence in tatters and automatic qualification for the knockout stages in the Champions League now in doubt.
With the Reds trailing by two, the Dutchman brought off Ibrahima Konate for Federico Chiesa. As a result, Gravenberch dropped into the backline with Jones already playing right-back to allow Dominik Szoboszlai to play further forward.
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However, the Liverpool icon felt that the decision to bring off the Frenchman tells a story in itself as he highlighted that the defensive shape is one that will never be a regular fixture at Anfield.
He said: “The substitution of Konate was huge, that sends a story. You look at the back four that you finish with: Curtis Jones, Gravenberch, Van Dijk and Kerkez. That’s not a Liverpool back four, never will be.”
After their humbling afternoon against Forest on Saturday, Liverpool needed a response, but they were given a mountain to climb after just five minutes when Virgil van Dijk was penalised in the box for a handball.
Ivan Perisic stepped up and sent Giorgi Mamardashvili the wrong way to open the scoring. The hosts did answer back through Szoboszlai 10 minutes later, tapping home after Cody Gakpo’s initial effort was saved.
Liverpool looked strong in the second-half and had chances to take the lead for the first time in the evening.
However, two defensive lapses opened the door for Peter Bosz’s side to run riot. Guus Til got the wrong side of Milos Kerkez to fire home before Ibrahima Konate’s lapse in concentration resulted in Couhaib Driouech scoring.
The Moroccan winger grabbed his first of the night just four minutes after replacing Perisic. In stoppage time, he finished emphatically, wrapping up the points for the Dutch side and heaping immeasurable pressure on the Liverpool head coach.
When asked about Liverpool’s performance, Gerrard said: “No it’s not [acceptable], they’re conceding too many goals, they’re wide open, they’re vulnerable and unstable.
“Anfield tells a story, the seats are empty, PSV were excellent, comfortable here tonight and deserve the victory. Liverpool’s problems become deeper, pressure intensifies even more and there needs to be soul searching for sure.”
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