Alan Shearer shared that he wasn’t convinced that Liverpool’s chance of winning the Premier League had improved by being knocked out of the FA Cup courtesy of Wolves.
The Premier League legend shared that the Reds had a big squad so Jurgen Klopp was gambling with his side on Monday and needed the players who don’t usually feature to step up in order to deliver a performance.
Shearer highlighted the fact that those who aren’t established members of the first-team failed miserably in that task with the Reds’ losing 2-1 to Wolves to end their journey in the FA Cup this season.
“No, I don’t, well they’ve got a very big squad and when you rotate as he did you’re gambling and you’re looking to your players as if to say come on give me something, give me a performance,” said Shearer following Liverpool’s loss to Wolves (BBC One, Monday January 7th, 21:43).
“The first team have done incredibly well all season, Champions League and Premier League, and he’s looking to the guys who have not been in the first-team to give him a performance and they failed miserably tonight.”
OPINION
It’s easy to assume who Shearer is pointing at his finger at following the Reds’ defeat to Wolves and it certainly wasn’t the Reds youngsters making their debuts. The likes of Daniel Sturridge, Divock Origi, though he did score, and Alberto Moreno all failed to make a case for why they should be playing more. It was a golden opportunity for players such as that trio to show Klopp that they deserved more playing time, but they did the opposite. Sturridge and Moreno both had very disappointing nights which should be a concern for them as the pair both have contracts that are set to expire in the summer. Whether the Reds will offer them new deals is one thing but they certainly didn’t make themselves appealing to other clubs who may be keeping tabs on them ahead of them becoming free agents. With the Reds out of the League Cup as well as the FA Cup now, it’s hard to know when fringes players are going be able to get another chance to stake their claim.
