Slot must cut 5/10 Liverpool dud after Man Utd

Liverpool dropped points at home for only the third time in the Premier League this season, drawing 2-2 with Manchester United at Anfield earlier this evening.

Goals from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah looked set to secure all three points Arne SlottAfter Lisandro Martínez put the visitors in the lead in the first minute of the second half.

However, Amad Diallo hit the back of the net late on to secure a point for Ruben Amorim’s men, and the Reds’ backline could not stop the run and cut back substitute Alejandro Garnacho.

After Arsenal failed to secure all three points against Brighton yesterday, Slott’s side remain six points ahead of the Gunners with 19 games remaining in the 2024/25 season.

However, it was an afternoon to forget for a number of players, potentially jeopardizing their first-team futures, especially with the transfer window opening earlier this week.

Who fought alongside Trent for Liverpool

Striker Luis Diaz made another start in the upper half for Liverpool this afternoon, looking to build on his impressive display against West Ham last weekend, where he scored his third goal in just two games.

However, he was a lone figure against the Red Devils, only 23 touches and completing just nine passes in the process as the visitors sat in the low block for most of the first half.

Colombian too he lost 58% of his duels and lost possession seven timeslooking wasteful and ineffectual when the ball eventually fell to him before retiring on the clock.

Trent Alexander-ArnoldHis future has been a major talking point in recent weeks due to interest from Real Madrid, and his head is clearly not in today’s clash after his poor performance on Merseyside.

Academy graduate endured a performance to forget, losing possession 25 times – the most of any player – while losing 100% of his duels, he often looked out of step with the rhythm of the day’s derby at Anfield.

He was eventually booked for thwarting a counter-attack before being replaced by Conor Bradley in the closing stages, which added to his poor performance for the Reds.

However, despite his lack of positive impact, another first-team star was equally disappointing, failing to make the most of the opportunity presented to him.

The Liverpool star who was as bad as Alexander-Arnold

Midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai missed the clash against United due to illness, and boss Slot relinquished the starting role Curtis Jones one more time.

The 23-year-old has he has already scored three times in the league in this campaign but was unable to add to his tally this afternoon, looking sluggish in possession and unable to provide that creative spark inside the final third.

Like Diaz, he was substituted after the hour as Slot looked for a goal to give his side the lead, but after his lack of performance, his withdrawal was justified, potentially putting his starting role in question in the coming weeks.

Just Jones he recorded just 37 total touchesjust four more than goalkeeper Alisson, completing just 25 passes with a pass success rate of 89% – an admittedly misleading figure, with 9% of his efforts directed forward.

He won possession back six times – an average of once every 6.1 times he touched the ball, while only managing win 50% of duels he entered the field.

The midfielder’s lack of creativity was evident by the fact that he failed to get a single shot on goal while completing zero key passes or dribbles past the opposition.

As a result, he got miserable Match rating 5/10 from The Express’s Charlie Gordon, with Gary Neville claiming to be an academy star “he really struggled” during his commentary duties at Anfield.

Given his display, Jones will be happy to retain his starting role on Wednesday night when the Reds travel to north London to face Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

Many fans will be hoping that Szoboszlai will be able to perform after his illness, pushing the 23-year-old further down the table after his latest disappointing display.