Ex-Liverpool stars Jermaine Pennant and John Aldridge label Arne Slot’s side “shambolic” following a shock 1-0 loss in Turkey.
Arne Slot’s decision-making as a manager has been met with some scathing scrutiny from some former Liverpool attackers.
Just as Slot seemed to be creeping back into the good books at Anfield, a crushing 1-0 loss away at Galatasaray in the Champions League has occurred.
Liverpool created a lot of chances at RAMS Park, but they just couldn’t find that killer goal to get back into the tight contest, as Mario Lemina’s early header proved to be the decisive match-winner for Okan Buruk’s determined hosts.
Thankfully, the Champions League always offers up a shot of redemption in the knockout stages, as Liverpool now have to return to Anfield, in the second leg, to make sure they overturn this one-goal deficit.
One Reds-oriented pundit took to social media at the full-time whistle to blast Slot’s decision-making, despite the fact Liverpool haven’t yet crashed out of the illustrious competition, as he now brazenly declares he is “done” with the Premier League-winning head coach.
The pundit’s “I’m done” ramblings
This isn’t the first time this season that former Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant has used X to get some ramblings off his chest, with Pennant previously declaring that the Dutchman would have “lost his marbles” completely if he didn’t start Rio Nguhoma against Tottenham Hotspur in Premier League action.
He is back to defend Nguhoma once more after Tuesday night’s depressing 1-0 loss, as the exciting 17-year-old was left rooted to the bench in Turkey.
This was somewhat of a surprising call, after the teenage attacker bamboozled Wolverhampton Wanderers for fun in the FA Cup, with Pennant now at the end of his tether with the under-fire 47-year-old.
Pennant said, right after the devastating clash had ended: “Ok I’m done with slot now, played 65 mins and man of the match last game.
87 mins gone, every single player has been horrendous, and Rio has not came on…… please anyone tell make it make sense please.”
Nguhoma could well have been an interesting play towards the latter stages of the contest, as the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai and Hugo Ekitike looked lost in the forward areas.
Liverpool Main Attacking Underperformers vs. Galatasaray:
| Player | Shots (on target) | Big chances missed | Successful dribbles |
| Florian Wirtz | 4 (1) | 2 | 1/5 |
| Mohamed Salah | 2 (0) | 1 | 0/3 |
| Hugo Ekitike | 3 (1) | 1 | 1/2 |
| Cody Gakpo (sub) | 1 (0) | 0 | 0/1 |
Slot will still have a lot of Liverpool fans’ backing for what he has managed to achieve previously, but Pennant wasn’t the only former Reds player who took to social media to vent their bemusement about the slim defeat in Istanbul.
Another former Liverpool player blasts the defeat
When Liverpool fans look back on some of their best attackers from yesteryear, John Aldridge’s name surely pops up.
The Liverpool-born attacker would put away a stunning 63 strikes for the Merseyside giants from 104 games in total.
He hasn’t minced his words, either, after Liverpool collapsed on their travels to Turkey, with the 66-year-old branding the loss as a “horrible watch” from an attacking viewpoint, via X.
Further stating that his beloved Reds stand “no chance” in the Cup if they can’t do the basics properly in the second leg, the mood engulfing Anfield after the sobering Tuesday night wake-up call is one of extreme glumness.
Slot will aim to get all his vocal critics back on side when Tottenham Hotspur travel to Liverpool next in the Premier League on Sunday, with a defeat at the hands of Igor Tudor’s crisis-ridden side, surely only making these searing post-match assessments even more venomous.
