Roy Keane has fired the “worst insult” at Liverpool in that they are “easy to play against,” which jars with Arne Slot‘s view that they “controlled” Man United.
Speaking after Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat to his former side, Keane agreed with the Sky Sports panel that a softness had crept into the squad.
“Definitely. Obviously we saw it today,” he said.
“I think the worst insult you can have for a team as a player is when people say you’re easy to play against – and Liverpool are, certainly this year.
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“Eleven league losses, 19 in total.
“If teams are thinking you’re easy to play against, that’s an insult if you’re one the bigger clubs, on the back of winning the league.
“I think that will hurt Liverpool and the manager more than anything else.”
Liverpool sit fourth in the table and are expected to qualify for the Champions League again, but only 13 sides in this season’s Premier League have lost more games (11).
While leaders Arsenal (+41) and title challengers Man City (+37) have built up a vast goal difference, Liverpool’s is significantly lower (+12).
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - Sunday, May 3, 2026: Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister (L) and Dominik Szoboszlai (R) challenge Manchester United's Bryan Mbeumo during the FA Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Liverpool FC at Old Trafford. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Slot’s side are clearly easy to break down and, in Keane’s words, play against – but in his post-match press conference the Dutchman claimed they “controlled the game” after Mateus Cunha’s opener.
“I think after us conceding the [first] goal we controlled ball possession, controlled the game by ball possession,” he told reporters at Old Trafford
“But then I think it was one of the first times after we lost the ball and they counter-attacked us to 2-0.
“Then, of course, everything you’ve done before deserves a lot of criticism, but I don’t think there were that many differences between the first and the second half.
“The only difference there was that we were better able to control their counter-attacks and creating more from the ball possession we had.”
It appears as though teams are comfortable allowing Liverpool the lion’s share of possession as it has become clear that they are unable to convert that into goals.
The belief that ‘control’ wins games seems misguided, because as soon as they lose it, it is simple to break Slot’s setup down.