Liverpool turn their focus to the Champions League this week after sweeping Southampton aside on Saturday.
It was a much more difficult game than some had imagined at Anfield, with the Premier League’s bottom side putting up a fight against the league leaders.
Having been sluggish against PSG on Wednesday, Liverpool were hardly better on home turf.
A mix up between Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker allowed Will Smallbone to give Southampton the lead, the most worrying part being that it was fully deserved at the time.
Liverpool did rally in the second-half. Mohamed Salah claimed Arne Slot ‘lost his head’ at half-time and the Dutchman got the reaction he was looking for in his players.
Nevertheless, watching on for Sky Sports, pundit Paul Merson claimed that there were some worrying signs ahead of another difficult game for Liverpool on Tuesday.
Photo by Matt Watson/Southampton FC via Getty Images
Photo by Matt Watson/Southampton FC via Getty Images
Paul Merson ‘worried’ about Liverpool vs PSG
That is now two games on the spin where Liverpool have looked sluggish and at times downright tired.
In both they were able to come out with a win, but they certainly need to improve when free-scoring PSG come to Anfield on Tuesday.
MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES
On the back of that, the Reds have the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle to prepare for. And heading into those two big games, Merson says Liverpool are going to have to better or could face crashing out of two competitions.
“It soon changes very quickly, football,” he said. “A bad week and you’re out of two competitions, lose a final and get knocked out of the Champions League, then you’ve just got the league which is virtually nearly done.”
READ MORE: Liverpool boss Arne Slot reveals whether Cody Gakpo is nearing fitness ahead of PSG and Newcastle clashes
“So, big, big week for them. Big week. But I’m disappointed in them today, I know they won and that’s all they had to do, but I’d be worried about the way they played coming into this game on Tuesday night.
“I thought they might get that little bit of confidence up, that swagger back, I didn’t see that today.”
Is Merson right to be concerned?
At this stage of the season, it could be said that results are the only thing that matters, not performances. And to an extent that is true.
If Liverpool play as badly in the next two matches but come out in the Champions League quarter-finals and with another Carabao Cup secured, then no one will be complaining.
However, this is certainly the wrong time of the campaign for the Reds to start looking leggy.
As Merson says, the Premier League is now looking all but won. That is an incredible position to be in and means that Liverpool can save their legs to a degree during the final nine matches.
But it could also mean they crash out of two competitions and are left with a series of relatively meaningless games once the league title is secured. In truth, we’d still take that any day of the week, but there is certainly reason to be worried regardless.