Liverpool 1-2 Man United: 4 losses in a row for messy Reds

Liverpool suffered their fourth defeat in a row for the first time since 2014, this time at Anfield as rivals Man United earned a 2-1 victory against a struggling mess of a side.

Liverpool unchanged – meaning Wirtz on the bench!

On a run of three defeats, Arne Slot made the surprise decision to name an unchanged side – meaning another start for Alexander Isak and a place on the bench for Florian Wirtz.

Dominik Szoboszlai was again trusted as the No. 10 behind Isak, with Hugo Ekitike – arguably the Reds’ most in-form player – also named among the substitutes.

Ruben Amorim made two changes from United’s 2-0 win over Sunderland with Harry Maguire and Matheus Cunha replacing Leny Yoro and Benjamin Sesko.

Controversy kicks off another poor first half

Slot spoke pre-match about the unpredictability of a United side without expected starter Sesko and Liverpool were a goal down within 90 seconds – in controversial circumstances.

A combination of Virgil van Dijk and Bryan Mbeumo wiped out Alexis Mac Allister, who went down with a head injury, but referee Michael Oliver allowed play to go on and Mbeumo went on to fire beyond a very weak Giorgi Mamardashvili.

Liverpool had chances to equalise, particularly on the break, with Cody Gakpo thundering an effort off the post after cutting onto his right.

But United were by far the more dangerous side, with Bruno Fernandes wasting a big opportunity and Mason Mount unable to take advantage of a gift from Mamardashvili who palmed a cross into his path.

Isak had a huge chance to level the score after running onto a brilliant pass from Konate, but the striker’s low effort was denied by Senne Lammens.

That perhaps summed up another poor half of football from the champions; comfortably outplayed by mid-table United.

Half-time: Liverpool 0-1 Man United

More chaos in the second half

Gakpo hit the woodwork for a third time shortly after the restart after again being allowed to cut onto his right, with the Dutchman clearly the Reds’ most dangerous attacking threat.

Slot opted for a triple substitution on the hour, with Ryan Gravenberch – who picked up an ankle issue – withdrawn along with Mac Allister and Conor Bradley as Wirtz, Ekitike and Curtis Jones came on.

It meant another switch in formation to a 4-2-4, with Szoboszlai moving to right-back meaning a two-man midfield of Wirtz and Jones.

Those changes, along with the later introduction of Federico Chiesa, made for another strange mess of attackers which briefly paid off, with the Italian crossing for Gakpo to tap in the equaliser.

But then Liverpool conceded another late goal with Maguire leaping over Konate and heading in as Mamardashvili stood stranded.

It meant a fourth defeat in a row for a side with a worrying lack of cohesion and a head coach needing to turn things around as questions rightly mount over his decision-making before, during and after games.

What exactly is the plan? With £446 million spent and a new system to accommodate that, there’s a worrying lack of clarity.

TIA Man of the Match: Cody Gakpo