Speaking in the aftermath of Liverpool's 2-1 loss to Manchester City, pundit and former player Jamie Carragher has claimed that the Reds will not finish in the Champions League spots. He singled out two players who he feels are to blame for a season of 'mistakes'.
Having won the Premier League last season, Arne Slot's team's title defence has been abject as they've long since lost any hopes of winning the competition in back-to-back years. The main goal will now be to finish inside the top five and qualify for Europe's premier club competition.
However, a loss to Man City means they sit sixth in the division, level with Brentford, and four points behind Chelsea in fifth with 13 games to play. After what was a terrible afternoon at Anfield, Carragher wasn't able to hide his dismay.
Carragher Doesn't Trust Liverpool to Make Champions League Spots
Dominik Szoboszlai fired Liverpool into a second-half lead, but with just six minutes of normal time to play goals from Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland turned the game on its head. There was even time for Szoboszlai to then get a comical red card right at the death.
Speaking on Sky Sports after the match, when asked if he reckons the Reds will make the Premier League's qualifying places for the Champions League, he said: "No. Right now I don't. They would have to have a huge upturn in form. And the ones above them are in great form."
On the impact of the loss, he added: "It's a bad one. When you look at the league for Liverpool, it looks like a long way to get into the top five Champions League positions. There's a gap now. You can make that up but Liverpool will have to do well in the two cup competitions to save the season."
On their poor league form, he noted that Szoboszlai's suspension could lead to more dropped points, with Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong injured, and Joe Gomez is also a fitness doubt for the trip to Sunderland in midweek:
"When you look at Liverpool's bench for the game against Sunderland in midweek, Szoboszlai won't be playing now and they've got a problem at right-back."
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The game was lost after a moment of rash goalkeeping from Alisson, who gave away a penalty after rushing out of his goal and colliding with Matheus Nunes. Carragher explained that Liverpool have had a season of 'mistakes', and these moments are to blame for the club's poor form.
Singling out captain Virgil van Dijk for his recent error against Bournemouth, and then Alisson for his mistake vs Man City, he lamented:
"A lot of Liverpool's season is about mistakes you cannot believe from players of that calibre. Virgil van Dijk at Bournemouth, Alisson [against Man City]. You can't believe a goalkeeper of his calibre makes the decision to do that for the penalty."
He also questioned how good the attack has been, concluding: "The manager has another decision to make on the front four.
"If Liverpool continue the way they are, with a front four and the games end to end, I just don't see how they can make the Champions League positions.
"But no matter what Arne Slot does, the make-up of this squad and team isn't right. It never looks stable, they are never in control. There is a long road ahead for Liverpool to make the Champions League places."