The Paul Gorst verdict from Anfield as Liverpool lose 2-1 to Manchester United and suffer a fourth successive defeat
Paul Gorst is the Liverpool ECHO's Liverpool FC correspondent and brings readers the inside track on all matters Anfield day in, day out. Now into his seventh season in the role, Paul follows the Reds home and away, wherever they play - including pre season. He brings you all the latest Liverpool news first each day, plus exclusive interviews and insightful, independent analysis. A journalist with over a decade's worth of experience, he has worked at the ECHO since 2016.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 19: Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, applauds the fans following defeat in the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield on October 19, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Arne Slot applauds the Liverpool fans following defeat in the Premier League to Manchester United at Anfield
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If three defeats on the spin was just a bad week at the office for Arne Slot before the international break, the sight of Manchester United's players celebrating a first Anfield win for nine years with their fans at full-time was the moment it became a crisis. This is the same United side who had not won back-to-back games under Ruben Amorim since his appointment 11 months ago, prior to this 2-1 triumph.
It’s the same team who have lurched from one calamity to the next in that time, unable to string together any semblance of the sort of football expected of a club of their size. And at times, they’ve been the laughing stock of the top flight, never more so than when they finished as low as 15th just a few months ago.
Yet here, on a cold mid-October afternoon, United cast aside their recent reputation as the butt of the joke and took a home vital victory that could finally, belatedly, kick-start the Amorim era. For Slot, that is of no significance, but the fact that he is now staring four straight defeats in the face should be cause for grave concern.
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The Liverpool boss cut a relaxed figure in his Friday press conference fresh from a few days in Dubai, insisting top players are at the elite level because of their ability to stay on an even keel regardless of the results. It's what kept the focus absolute as the club closed in on the Premier League title last time out and it's why there has been no sense behind the scenes that a difficult run is getting to anyone.
Maybe, though, it’s time to show the hurt? It would be no bad thing to see the anguish of four straight reverses writ large on the faces of some of this squad. It would at least communicate a desperation and a determination to put this sequence right before the title defence evaporates entirely.
That a trip to Eintracht Frankfurt beckons in the Champions League gets in the way of an inquest for the head coach and his staff is unfortunate. They might prefer sifting through the wreckage to nail down just what is going wrong presently.
It’s the first time in 11 years the Reds have lost four in a row and seven of 12 games this season, inclusive of the Community Shield, have seen Liverpool ship two goals. The control that characterised last season's title stroll has been totally lost in the shuffle of the summer.
On the one hand, Wednesday at least offers Liverpool a chance to quickly get this out of their system but, in truth, losing to United at Anfield takes longer to shake off. As it should. It's the first time it's happened since a Wayne Rooney winner for Louis van Gaal's team when Jurgen Klopp was only a few months into his near-nine-year tenure.
The Reds have had the lion’s share of the memorable moments in that time but this was the day when they had to take their medicine.
United's lead came inside two minutes when Virgil van Dijk, distracted by a clattered Alexis Mac Allister - who caught an elbow to the head in a sandwich with Bryan Mbuemo - was out of position to allow the forward to drift inside the box and finish past Giorgi Mamardashvili, who should have done better.
It was United's first shot on target and another example of Liverpool's unfortunate habit of giving up goals far too easily. Opponents are no longer having to work hard to score past them.
Despite Argentina international Mac Allister writhing around after being caught on the head, referee Michael Oliver didn't stop the phase of play, which led to United's opener. It was a moment to forget for an official who we're often told is this country's finest.
But placing this result at the feet of the officials would be disingenuous. This simply carried too many of the hallmarks that have blighted these opening two months.
Mohamed Salah, once more, was nowhere near the spellbinding form of 12 months ago and the Egyptian's rut has to be considered a real worry now.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 19: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Mohamed Salah of Liverpool looks on during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield on October 19, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Mohamed Salah looks on during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield on October 19, 2025
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Milos Kerkez is struggling and could do with a spell out of the team and Mac Allister is way off his bewitching best. They are not the only three below their usual standards, either.
Florian Wirtz was bright and inventive following his introduction and it was he and fellow substitute Federico Chiesa who combined to put it on a plate for Cody Gakpo, who hit the woodwork three times, to make it 1-1 as the game edged to the final 10 minutes.
The problem for Slot is his repeated attempts to grab an equaliser in games where they trail has seen him throw the kitchen sink at it only to be caught cold each time.
Liverpool’s league defeats to Crystal Palace, Chelsea and now here have all seen late winners from the opposition, which have largely come about thanks to a disjointed and unbalanced team having too many attackers out there in search of a late goal themselves.
In a way, it’s admirable and shows a commitment towards late and decisive contributions and a belief they can be achieved. And after the victories over Bournemouth, Arsenal, Newcastle and Burnley, it’s understandable Slot might be emboldened to go for the jugular.
The only problem right now is the late goals are coming at the other end and the sight of three players lining up to finish off at the back post summed it all up. Harry Maguire duly obliged and Amorim got his statement victory.
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