Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford has understandably left a sour taste among supporters, not just because of the result itself, but because it handed Manchester United a league double over the Reds for the first time since 2015/16.
For a club trying to establish a new era under Arne Slot, that is the kind of statistic that stings. Liverpool fans can accept the occasional setback, but losing twice to United in a single campaign will always feel different. It brings frustration, noise and scrutiny in equal measure.
On the surface, this was a bad afternoon because of the scoreline. Liverpool lost control in key moments, looked too open at times and paid the price against a side they would expect to outperform.
But what makes the defeat more difficult to accept is the wider context. Liverpool are not judged by simply being competitive at Old Trafford. They are judged by standards built over years of competing for major honours, and a 3-2 loss to United never sits lightly when measured against that.
There will be supporters who see this as a reminder that Slot still has plenty of work to do with this team. That is fair. Liverpool have quality, but results like this show there are still areas that need more steel, more control and perhaps more ruthlessness when the game begins to swing.
As the Reds made their way back to the dressing room, two members of the squad taunted the United fans. Dominik Szoboszlai gestured towards the Premier League badge to show who the current Premier League champions are. In contrast, Arne Slot showed six fingers to signify how many Champions Leagues his team has won.
This isn’t the first time the Reds players have tried to get into the heads of the fans packed inside Old Trafford. Steven Gerrard was accustomed to kissing the camera when he would run over to the travelling away support, or even when Harry Wilson did a ‘5 times’ celebration while on loan at Derby.
The Old Trafford faithful claim online that the Hungarians’ antics are useless as they have won the most Premier League titles. It’s true, though it’s more likely that the 25-year-old was on about the current holders. Aside from that, there is a different issue at hand.
Liverpool’s performance against United was flat, which Kopites have grown used to more and more in recent months. Once a team that brought high intensity to the field, even under Arne Slot, it now plays lethargic football, which has caused a divide in the fanbase.
Slot’s men started the first half slowly, and they were punished for it. Then they took advantage of two mistakes to tie the game, though they didn’t push on in search of a winner. A winner would fall into the path of Kobbie Mainoo late into the game.
It’s been the story throughout the campaign for the Reds, showing little fight in the first half, being fragile at the back, having now conceded 70+ goals in a campaign for only the 18th time in the club’s history and a lack of cutting edge in attack.
When it swings back round to what Szoboszlai and the Head Coach did, they are well within their rights to boast their achievements or what the club has achieved in the past, though the difference is that when Wilson or Gerrard did it, it was in the moment when it was in their favour, not like this past weekend.
The Welshman and the former Liverpool captain scored goals before celebrating their goals in style. These taunts on the weekend are a reminder of how the team have been this season. They are hidden, similar to how fans have criticised them for hiding on the pitch. It doesn’t have the same feeling as the previous one, as Liverpool simply hasn’t been good enough.
Szoboszlai was one of the very few again on Sunday who did shoulder responsibility, but the line remains the same; a lot were in hiding and didn’t take on the duty that was required.
That was Liverpool’s last chance to take on their fierce rival this season, and between the next meeting at Old Trafford and now, much change is expected to take place on Merseyside, for better or worse.
When they clash, the Anfield outfit need to remind their rivals of past success, but it’s hard to do that and accept the actions on the weekend when the performance doesn’t match and the season falls far below the criteria of Liverpool Football Club, making Szoboszlai’s and Slot’s actions seem almost pointless. No one loves taking the mick out of United more than Kopites, but they can’t enjoy their squad’s full-time actions as much as they’d like.
This is where perspective matters. Slot is still shaping this Liverpool side in his own image, and while there have been promising signs, days like this underline that the rebuild is not complete.
The best Liverpool teams of recent years were defined by their ability to turn emotionally charged games into statements. Right now, Slot’s side still look like a team learning how to do that consistently. There is talent, there is intensity, and there are flashes of the right mentality, but there are also moments where the control is not yet where it needs to be.
That does not mean panic is required. It does mean lessons have to be learned quickly.
Liverpool supporters will demand a response
More than anything, this defeat now places the focus firmly on the response. Liverpool fans will not want to dwell on the statistic, the noise from Old Trafford or the frustration of letting another huge game slip away. They will want to see a team that comes back sharper, tougher and far less willing to hand momentum to a rival.
Losing twice to Manchester United in a season is never acceptable by Liverpool standards. But if Slot and his players respond in the right way, this can still become one of those painful results that sharpens a side rather than derails it.
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It hurts because it should hurt. A 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford is bad enough on its own, but the wider meaning behind it will bother supporters even more. The only way Liverpool can silence that frustration now is with a response that shows this team is still moving forward under Slot, even after a setback as bitter as this one.
