Liverpool suffered its 11th Premier League defeat of the season against Manchester United, with Micah Richards and Alan Shearer both agreeing the club's summer signings have failed to deliver under Arne Slot
17:19, 04 May 2026
Alan Shearer on the Rest is Football
Alan Shearer agreed with Micah Richards(Image: The Rest is Football)
Alan Shearer could only shake his head in agreement as Micah Richards listed Liverpool's most significant issues this season.
The former Manchester City defender highlighted four signings that have underperformed under Arne Slot, suggesting the Reds have lost the defining characteristics they developed under Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool suffered its 11th Premier League defeat of the campaign against Manchester United, though the team remains in contention for Champions League qualification. A dismal first-half showing left Slot's players 2-0 down before they fought back to equalize through Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo, only for Kobbie Mainoo to grab a late winner for United.
READ MORE: Arne Slot error proves costly as Liverpool and Man Utd reality clear - 5 talking pointsREAD MORE: Jamie Carragher reveals long-term Liverpool 'worry' as he calls for summer transfer action
The manner of the Reds' first-half performance against their greatest rivals has raised as many concerns as their overall season, just 12 months after a dominant Premier League title victory. Richards believes Liverpool has regressed despite their considerable spending last summer.
"I think where the scrutiny comes is the signings. They've not worked," Richards said on the Rest is Football, as Shearer quickly shook his head.
"Isak has been injured, Wirtz has not been at the level we all expect, Frimpong is your right winger, your right-back, it's not really working out."
Arne Slot and Liverpool are under pressure
Arne Slot and Liverpool are under pressure(Image: Getty Images)
"Kerkez has been a shadow of the player who was at Bournemouth," he continued, prompted by Shearer. "I don't know if that's pressure or if that's the system. Liverpool are too slow, too passive, they're too easy to play against.
"What you normally associate Liverpool with is being aggressive, hard to beat, work-rate, especially under Klopp, and they're none of those things. I'd like the manager to get a chance to turn those things around."
Shearer similarly feels Slot merits the chance to turn his team's fortunes around. "I think so," he said. "I think in terms of what he did last season and winning the league, manager of the season. With the issues and the problems they've had at Liverpool this year, then yeah, I do. If it were my choice, I would have him as manager, yeah."
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, though, holds concerns about the club's trajectory and challenged the quality of signings the Merseyside club targeted last summer. He said: "Am I worried about where Liverpool are going? Yeah, I am.
"I think it will be really interesting who Liverpool buy in the summer, what the profile of player will be. Going for just good players hasn't worked, it's blown up in their face. There's a lack of physicality.
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"So it's on the manager's shoulders. And I go back to last year when Liverpool didn't sign anybody, but the one player he wanted was Martin Zubimendi again, another technical footballer.
"I'm not saying that doesn't work. The most successful team in the Premier League over the last 10 years have been a technical football team, but we're going away from what Jurgen Klopp was, because this manager wants that.
"This is where he's taken this team. And that's the worry for me, is this actually going to go more of the other way? Or are we thinking Liverpool needs to go back to last season? Or is Arne Slot thinking, 'No, we actually need more technical footballers?'"