- Liverpool lost 2-1 to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday
- Alan Shearer slammed two players following the loss
- The Reds remain fifth in the Premier League
Liverpool slumped to their 10th defeat of the season after Brighton & Hove Albion defeated them 2-1 at the American Express Stadium on Saturday, March 21. Arne Slot’s side were slammed by former players on social media, and pundits joined in later in the day.
Speaking on the BBC Match of the Day, Alan Shearer claimed that Liverpool were bullied by Brighton & Hove Albion. He slammed the whole team, saying that nobody showed fight on the pitch.
The Premier League Hall of Famer questioned Slot’s tactics, noting that the side lacked width and that Florian Wirtz was not given any options when he was on the ball. He said:
“I thought they were outfought and they were bullied by Brighton, particularly defensively. They went into it again with no width and when Wirtz got the ball he had no options to his right or left, he had to go straight down the middle. There was nothing really available for him.”
Shearer went on to slam Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, saying that they were all over the place. He claimed that Danny Welbeck was bullying them the whole game and the duo were a mess on the pitch.
“Welbeck bullied the two centre-backs, they were all over the place. I thought they were really poor and all over the place, they really were, they were a mess.”
Shearer did have some sympathy for the manager, as Ekitike was out injured early in the game, and the constant change at right-back also did not work in favour of Liverpool. However, he questioned why there was no pressure on Brighton in the midfield and said:
“There’s no doubt that the situation with Ekitike upset them in terms of the rhythm, and they had to change a few bits. But there were three different right-backs today, clearly that doesn’t help, but there was no pressure in midfield, no threat up front and defensively the spaces in between were glaring, it was so obvious what was missing.”
What Next for Liverpool?
Liverpool players have now split for the international break and will be back in April. The Reds’ next game is against Manchester City in the FA Cup, on Saturday, April 4.
The pressure on Arne Slot has increased in the last few days following the loss to Brighton. It was their 10th defeat of the season, reaching the numbers for the first time in a decade.
Xabi Alonso has been linked with the Anfield job, but the media reports suggest a change is not expected, at least until the summer.
