In his latest column, John Aldridge reflects on an important week for Liverpool and how Milos Kerkez is now finding his feet
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot gestures during the FA Cup fourth round match against Brighton & Hove Albion on February 14 2026
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot gestures during the FA Cup fourth round match against Brighton & Hove Albion on February 14 2026
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(Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
Liverpool could easily have become disheartened and disillusioned after what happened at the end of the game against Manchester City last weekend. But their reaction to that difficult defeat has been excellent, first with a hard-earned Premier League win at Sunderland and then comfortable FA Cup progress against Brighton on Saturday evening.
It was a good win against the Seagulls. They may be underperforming in the league but they won at Manchester United in the last round and can give any team a proper match on their day.
We could have had five goals in the end because of some wrong calls from the officials, with Rio Ngumoha particularly unlucky to have a goal chalked off.
I loved the first goal, which saw Milos Kerkez set up Curtis Jones to score. You don't often see one full-back assisting another, and it showed good awareness from the pair of them. It was a special goal.
I’d called for Arne Slot to go strong in the competition and I was glad to see him pick such a recognisable team, even if there were couple of changes.
Maybe it was a surprise Alisson Becker started, but it was just as well given his save from Diego Gomez towards the end of the first half. That’s two clean sheets in a row and that will give the defence in particular a lot of confidence.
There was a lot less sense of panic towards the end of the Sunderland game when defending a narrow lead, and that has to be the way between now and the end of the season.
With the margins so tight in the three remaining competitions, Liverpool can’t afford any big mistakes. Do that in a cup, and you’ll probably be out. Do that in the league, and it might be the end of our top-four hopes.
One thing that continues to worry me, though, is that we are starting games so slowly. It’s almost become notorious.
Perhaps it has always been the way under Slot, who values control more than the high-octane approach of the early years with Jurgen Klopp in charge. But it has become much more noticeable this season.
It means, especially in home games, there isn’t a lot on the pitch to get the crowd going. It’s undoubtedly a deliberate ploy so Liverpool can work out their gameplan and the opposition before picking up the tempo and getting a foothold in the game.
But the problem is the other teams are now getting on to it and some are starting quickly in an attempt to catch us out. It can look as though we are giving our opponents too much respect rather than believing in ourselves a bit more.
I can understand the approach given the poor results of earlier in the season, but that was a while ago. We need to start faster now.
And with the title defence out of the window, there’s now no reason for Liverpool not to go as strong as possible in the FA Cup. It’s becoming a real chance of silverware.
Kerkez becoming confident
What a change in fortunes it has been for Milos Kerkez. He was Liverpool’s best player against Brighton, and it isn’t the only game recently where he has impressed.
Sometimes people forget how difficult it can be to make the step up to play for Liverpool. Even though Kerkez has Premier League experience, there’s a world of difference playing in front of 10,000 every other week at Bournemouth to then stepping out for the Reds where the interest and pressure is enormous.
Manchester United are the only English club who can rival Liverpool in that regard. The size of the club cannot be underestimated.
Kerkez definitely struggled at first and wasn’t helped by playing in an underperforming team. But he is now blossoming, and has shown the players we signed last summer all have massive potential and are already starting to deliver on that.
And as a left-back, Kerkez is already demonstrating some of the dynamics brought to the team by Andy Robertson over the years. He is proving a worthwhile replacement.
* John Aldridge was speaking to Ian Doyle
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