Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge hit back at Roy Keane after the Sky Sports pundit called the Reds ‘poor champions’ for their Premier League title defence struggles ahead of the Arsenal game
Former Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge has rejected Roy Keane’s assertion that the Reds are “poor champions”. The Manchester United legend criticised Arne Slot’s squad for their lacklustre defence of the Premier League trophy after dropping well behind in the championship race.
Arsenal had the opportunity to establish an eight-point advantage at the top following setbacks for Manchester City and Aston Villa, with victory over Liverpool in north London on Thursday potentially extending their lead to 17 points over the Merseyside outfit.
Liverpool began their title defence impressively but vulnerabilities emerged as they surrendered advantages against Bournemouth and Newcastle United, whilst unconvincing performances against Burnley, Atletico Madrid and Everton preceded a dramatic downturn in late September.
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The loss to Crystal Palace triggered a remarkable sequence of defeats for Liverpool which eroded their position at the top and severely dented morale.
Keane drew comparisons between the title defence under Jurgen Klopp and their current struggle to maintain their position at the pinnacle of English football, reports the Mirror.
He said: “They’ve been poor champions, poor champions. When you look at how many points behind…
“When you win the title for big clubs, it’s about what you do the following season and when they won it four or five years ago, the following year they were way off it as well.
“There’s reasons for that, injuries and recruitment. To be so far off it, to be 13 points (worse off) than they were last year, it’s a big drop off.”
Many pundits had backed Liverpool to retain their title, particularly with Manchester City still finding their feet under Pep Guardiola’s stewardship.
The Anfield outfit were considered frontrunners ahead of Arsenal following a summer spending spree that witnessed Liverpool smash their transfer record not once but twice to secure the signatures of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.
Sturridge suggested that absences through injury to pivotal figures, notably Isak and Hugo Ekitike, have contributed significantly to their underwhelming campaign.
The ex-England striker said: “You’ve made the case there that if they were poor champions, if they had players available and you could argue then they’d be poor champions defending their title.
“We can’t negate the fact that they’ve lost players that they’ve spent money on, of course Diogo Jota god rest his soul, we’re looking a different team, a different philosophy.”
However, despite Sturridge’s defence, Keane remained resolute in his criticism, claiming the Reds have failed to live up to the standards expected of reigning champions.
He said: “They’re the challenges that you face when you’re champions, people are after you, injuries, setbacks but they’ve not done the hard yards.”
