The pundits have been having their say after Liverpool were forced to settle for another Premier League draw, this time 1-1 at home to Burnley, on Saturday
Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney have been having their say on Liverpool (Image: BBC)
Liverpool had to settle for their fourth successive Premier League draw on Saturday. The Reds dominated the 19th-place Clarets for large patches of the game, yet failed to capitalise on their opportunities, most notably when Dominik Szoboszlai struck the bar from the penalty spot.
After a Florian Wirtz stunner put the defending champions ahead, Cody Gakpo had a chance to double their lead cleared off the line. The game’s second goal, however, came from Burnley’s Marcus Edwards, who drilled a low shot into the side of the net to level things up.
The Clarets, who had picked up only three points from their previous 12 league fixtures before visiting Anfield, were dug out by Martin Dubravka, who faced an onslaught from Liverpool, who rifled in 32 shots throughout the contest, 11 of which were on target, and had an xG of 3.18.
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Their opponents, in contrast, scored with their only shot on target.
The full-time whistle was met with a chorus of boos from the home supporters and, while the result extended the Reds’ unbeaten run in all competitions to 12 matches, it raised fresh questions over the direction of their season.
With wins from Manchester United and Chelsea on Saturday, Liverpool sit only one point and two points clear of the chasing pack respectively in fourth place.
The Reds’ next league game is on Saturday, away to Bournemouth, where they will be hoping to get back to winning ways.
And ahead of that match the pundits have been having their say…
Wayne Rooney
Speaking on Match of the Day on Saturday, the former Everton, Manchester United and England striker said: “They’re unbeaten in 12, six of them are draws.
“When you look at (the stats) it’s a good performance, they should have won the game. It shows they haven’t been clinical enough today.
I’ve been critical of Liverpool throughout the season, they’ve not been consistent enough. They won their first five but needed late goals to win them.
“They’ve not flowed like they have last season, they’ve not got that aura or chemistry about the team like they did last season.
“It’s a worrying time. It’s not the end of the world for Liverpool and Arne Slot, but it’s a worrying time.”
Steven Gerrard
The Liverpool legend, speaking on TNT Sports’ coverage of Nottingham Forest v Arsenal, which followed the draw with the Clarets said: “That won’t be acceptable – a draw with Burnley at home, with all due respect. If you’re being critical of the Liverpool team – even though they’re on a better run in terms of unbeaten games – the draws to the likes of Leeds and Burnley at home. That’s not acceptable.
“There will be a lot of criticism that comes the manager’s way again. But give the manager credit. The last time we spoke about this, you asked me if the team was in a crisis, and I said I didn’t think it was in a crisis because I felt like this manager was capable of making things better and steadying the ship.
“He has moved the team from the middle of the table and up back into the Champions League positions. I think that will be a priority for him and the team, minimum top four this season, but that won’t take anything away from the criticism that will come his way.”
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Alan Shearer
The former Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and England forward, speaking alongside Rooney on Match of the Day, said: “Those 12 games unbeaten feels very underwhelming, there’s definitely some things missing in that team, the full backs aren’t as dynamic, they’re miles off in what they had in midfield, there’s no way the back four are getting the protection they did last year.
“Also, they’ve got (Mohamed) Salah to come back, is that going to cause an issue with what happened before he went away? They’re miles off from what we saw last season.”
