Online Reporter
“SACKED in the morning” sang the jubilant City fans to Arne Slot as the clock ticked down — with the points long since secured by the home side.
His team have lost five of their last six Prem games to slip back to EIGHTH in the table on goal difference. Not to mention a whopping eight points behind leaders Arsenal with 11 games gone.
Roy Keane described the situation unfolding with the Reds as a “crisis”.
The Sky Sports pundit said: “To lose seven in ten and five league losses already this season, it has to be a crisis for a club like Liverpool.
“City look stronger, technically better and they looked much better physically than Liverpool.
“I thought Liverpool were a really weak team today.”
Who saw this coming?
Dutchman Slot has plenty of goodwill in the bank after leading the Reds to the title in his first season in charge.
But Kop owners FSG will be sitting slightly uncomfortably after their enormous £426million outlay in the summer.
And don’t forget Jose Mourinho and Claudio Ranieri got the boot within months of lifting the trophy.
We’re not at that stage yet – but it can happen.
At least Slot might have found a sympathetic ear in Pep Guardiola in the manager’s office after the game. The City boss famously went through a similar slump in the autumn last year but now looks to have come out the other side.
NO DEFENDING TRANSFER PLAN
How much will Liverpool regret their failure to land Marc Guehi before August’s transfer deadline?
It looks like Slot neglected the centre of his defence while lavishing nearly half a billion on other areas of his team.
French defender Ibrahima Konate had a day to forget against Erling Haaland and Co — it was his error that led to the controversial early penalty.
Back-up keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili got him out of jail by brilliantly saving the City spot-kick.
But then Konate got underneath a cross from the right by Matheus Nunes, allowing Haaland to nod the opener. The Norwegian is a big guy but it looked too easy for him.
Skipper Virgil van Dijk looked rattled at times, too, and it is easy to forget he’s 34 now and won’t be able to come to Liverpool’s rescue every time.
WIRTZ THAN WE THOUGHT?
City had a good long look at Florian Wirtz while he was at Bayer Leverkusen.
They backed away because of the eye-watering finances of the deal — or was it because they knew he had set his heart on a move to Anfield?
But the German has struggled since making his £116.5m move to England, yet to register a Prem goal or assist.
And if his plan was to show Guardiola and his club what they missed on, then it didn’t work out.
He is only 22 and will surely come good but it needs to come sooner rather than later as Liverpool are well off the pace.
Guardiola chose to spend the money on French winger Rayan Cherki, Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Algerian defender Rayan Ait-Nouri instead. None of them have set the world on fire yet but you won’t hear anyone at the Etihad saying they made the wrong call. – Sun
