Poor Team! Steven Gerrard Calls on Arne Slot to Revamp Liverpool’s Starting XI

Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has voiced out his frustration over the club performance against Wolverhampton and their form in the Premier League this season.

Wolves defeated Liverpool 2-1 on Tuesday night as Arne Slots’ side continued their inconsistent form in the Premier League. The defeat means the Reds are stuck in fifth position and a Chelsea victory over Aston Villa would see them leapfrog Liverpool into the top five on goal difference.

Speaking after the game, Gerrard called on Arne Slot to make some changes to his starting eleven, and this include giving Rio Ngumoha a starting opportunity.

After watching the 17-year-old outshine Cody Gakpo during his brief cameo on Tuesday, Gerrard insisted that a “desperate” Liverpool side must unleash the teenage sensation to address their lack of attacking spark.

“For 65 minutes, Liverpool were desperate tonight, really poor,” he said on punditry duties for TNT Sports. “They didn’t play with the right tempo, the right quality. He’s doing more in a short cameo than (Cody) Gakpo in 65 minutes. So he deserves a start. (Slot) has to start the kid on Friday night.”

Beyond the attacking woes, Gerrard turned his attention to a backline that looked uncharacteristically fragile against a team fighting relegation.

Gerrard was frustrated with Liverpool’s defending for Wolves opening goal, indicating a lack of basic defensive awareness from Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk.

The former Rangers and Aston Villa boss also noted a lack of urgency following an Alisson Becker error that led to the hosts’ second goal.

“Wolves were very comfortable, they contained Liverpool really well,” Gerrard remarked. “It was a basic ball up to the target man, they’ve got a two on one there, that’s got to be dealt with. For the second goal, it’s a poor ball from the goalkeeper (Alisson) and there’s no reaction. If they want to progress in the FA Cup they’ve got to defend a lot better. They say ‘we weren’t good enough in the final third’ but they’ve got to defend as well.”

Just like Gerrard, Manager Slot described the result as “another setback” in a season that is becoming increasingly inconsistent, while Van Dijk was refreshingly honest about the team’s technical failings on the night.

“It was slow, we were predictable, sloppy in possession and wrong decision-making,”

Liverpool will now turn their attention to a FA Cup fifth round tie against Wolves, before a crucial home fixture against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield.