Former Republic of Ireland international Tony Cascarino has blasted several Liverpool players for their performances against Manchester United on Sunday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side produced a lacklustre effort as they battled to a goalless draw with their big rivals, and Cascarino was less than impressed with the Reds.
“They were laboured and wasteful with the ball,” he wrote in his column for The Times. “The Liverpool forward Sadio Mané gave it away so many times he was nearly United’s man of the match.
“Daniel Sturridge was shocking when he came on and Mohamed Salah looked out of sorts. Liverpool don’t look like a team confidently chasing the title. They look afraid. They may have got a point away against one of their rivals but the bigger picture is that they don’t look like they believe they can win the Premier League.”
OPINION
It seems rather reactionary to claim that Liverpool now look like they don’t believe they can win the Premier League. That squad, having been the standout team so far this campaign, will doubtless feel that they can win the title. However, there’s understandably some nerves considering how long it’s been since the Reds last tasted league glory. Sunday was a tough game against a rejuvenated rival team, and Liverpool didn’t do enough to win. Does that mean that they’re afraid, though? No. You could see how frustrated Jordan Henderson was about being brought off – he wanted to be out there making a difference, he wasn’t afraid. To be fair to Cascarino, though, he’s right about the trio of Reds players he mentioned. Sturridge offered nothing to the game after coming on, while Salah and Mane were nothing like as devastating as they normally are. Improvement is needed from all three of those men if Liverpool are to clinch the title this term.
