Liverpool conceded a stoppage-time goal for the seventh time in the Premier League as they fell to a 2-1 defeat by Wolves.
Steve Nicol slammed Liverpool’s capacity to lose against any opposition after being condemned to defeat by the Premier League’s basement side.
The Reds were beaten 2-1 by Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux - a ninth loss in their insipid defence of the English championship. Arne Slot’s side have been vulnerable throughout the campaign, having been held to draws against newly-promoted sides Burnley, Leeds United (twice) and Sunderland, as well as losing to relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest and now Wolves.
The Anfield outfit’s results are a stark contrast to what many expected at the start of the campaign after a £450 million spend on the likes of Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike. While the former pair were sidelined against Wolves, the team that Slot fielded contained eight members of the Premier League title-winning squad as well as summer signings Ekitike (£79 million), Milos Kerkez (£40 million) and Jeremie Frimpong (£29.5 million).
What’s been said
And former Liverpool full-back Nicol, who won four league titles and the European Cup on Merseyside, believes that the performance at Wolves embodied the campaign. Speaking on ESPN, Nicol said: “Dominating the ball and doing something with it and creating chances and scoring goals are two different things. The final pass, the final decision was horrible. When you're defending champions and trying to get in the Champions League, going forward, dominating the play away from home isn't enough.
“You have to take the other step and create chances and score goals against the team at the bottom of the league and going down. It's not acceptable to lose to Wolves. Wolves had two shots on goal and scored two goals. Not only am I talking about going forward where, in the final third, [it] was just horrible.
“Although Mo Salah scored a goal, the goalie should have saved it and he really didn't contribute anything again all evening. I can sit here for 10 minutes and say everything that has gone wrong but [Tuesday] was a microcosm of what's gone wrong all season; poor decision-making, the front three done not much at all and defensively, you concede two goals from two shots.
“My biggest concern is that it doesn't matter who Liverpool play against... they can lose. It's one thing to talk about big games in a season but when you're team is stepping on a field regardless of the situation and you're not sure what you're going to get, that's not a decision acceptable at a club like Liverpool. Everybody who plays against Liverpool know they're going to get a shot and probably going to score.”
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