Every person connected to Liverpool Football Club must be wondering how they walked away from their clash with Manchester City without a single point to show for their efforts.
They were 1-0 up with five minutes of the 90 still to play, thanks to Dominik Szoboszlai's outrageous free-kick, and Alisson had barely been troubled all evening.
One Erling Haaland flick-on later and Bernardo Silva equalised in the 85th minute, before a rash decision from Liverpool's goalkeeper proved costly.
alisson-liverpool-nunes
With Matheus Nunes more or less going nowhere, the Brazil international clattered into the full-back and gave the referee no choice to make but to point to the spot.
Erling Haaland, of course, stepped up to convert the spot-kick into the bottom left corner to win the game for the Cityzens, but not before Szoboszlai was shown a red card for pulling the striker back before he could make it 3-1 in stoppage time.
It was a truly mind-boggling end to the game.
Ranking Liverpool's worst performers against Man City
Despite being shown a red card, Szoboszlai was nowhere near being one of the worst players on the pitch for the Reds, as it was his stupendous free-kick that put them 1-0 up in the first place.
Alisson, though, was as it was his error that, ultimately, cost Liverpool the game. He also got away with one earlier in the half when Omar Marmoush backed out of challenging for the ball, when it appeared as though the goalkeeper was not going to be first to it 50 yards from his own goal.
Along with the shot-stopper, Ibrahima Konate will not be pleased with his contribution to the game, as he raced out of position to lose a header to Haaland for Bernardo's equaliser.
|Liverpool's worst performers vs Man City|
|Rank|Player|
|---|
|1|Alisson|
|2|Gakpo|
|3|Konate|
|4|Mac Allister|
|5|Wirtz|
Ahead of the defence, Alexis Mac Allister and Florian Wirtz both struggled. The former lost four of his five duels in the middle of the park, whilst the Germany international missed a huge chance to score when he tried to place it instead of going for power, allowing Marc Guehi to make the block.
Liverpool's Florian Wirtz
Mac Allister and Wirtz may not have contributed to the two goals that City scored, but their performances prevented the Reds from adding to their lead.
Liverpool flop must be on borrowed time after Man City loss
Gakpo, who is one of the top 11 earners in the squad, must be on borrowed time after his performance against Manchester City, as he was among the worst performers on the day.
liverpool-anfield Related
Weekly wages: Liverpool FC 2025/26 highest-paid players
Football FanCast has gathered all the information on the richest players at Liverpool.
The Netherlands international was selected to start on the left flank against City and failed to justify his inclusion in the side with a positive display for Arne Slot.
Gakpo had fewer touches (27) than Alisson (50), which speaks to his lack of involvement in the game, and he did not do much with his touches of the ball.
cody-gakpo-liverpool
The 26-year-old forward did not register a single shot on goal in the 90 minutes and did not create a single 'big chances' for his teammates, instead constantly cutting in from the left wing just to get crowded out by Manchester City defenders.
Gakpo has now gone five games without a goal or an assist to show for his efforts in the Premier League, and only has one goal and no assists in his last ten outings in the competition.
|Top scoring wingers/AMs in 25/26 Premier League|
|Player|Goals|
|---|
|Antoine Semenyo|12|
|Bryan Mbeumo|9|
|Harry Wilson|8|
|Jarrod Bowen|8|
|Morgan Rogers|8|
|Phil Foden|7|
|Cole Palmer|7|
The best wingers and attacking midfielders have scored between eight and 12 goals in the league so far this term, yet Gakpo has only scored five goals in 19 starts for the reigning champions.
Gakpo needs to up his game at the top end of the pitch to justify his place as a regular starter at Anfield, as he looks like he is on borrowed time with his current performance level.
cody-gakpo-liverpool-man-city
Slot has Rio Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa in reserve and available to call upon to take Gakpo's place on the left flank if he wants to make a change to the starting XI, so the Dutchman does not have a guaranteed place in the side.
Therefore, the former PSV star needs to start adding more goals and assists to his performances in the Premier League to avoid being ruthlessly ditched from the starting line-up in the weeks to come.
Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones Related
Liverpool already have an 18-year-old Curtis Jones upgrade in the academy
Liverpool face losing their most notable academy graduate following following interest from Spurs and Inter Milan in January.