After another frustrating display in a Liverpool shirt, Chris Sutton took aim at Florian Wirtz as Federico Chiesa’s late strike could not rescue a point against Crystal Palace.
Crystal Palace 2-1 Liverpool: Eagles join late show
Somehow, some way, Liverpool thought they had done it again. It had been the late late show under Arne Slot and for the second time, it was Federico Chiesa who stepped from the bench to rescue the Reds, it seemed. He found the back of the net deep on in the second half and looked to have capped off an excellent week which started with two assists against Southampton in the Carabao Cup.
And then Palace decided to spark a late show of their own through Eddie Nketiah to hand Liverpool their first defeat of the season. It has been coming for some time, some will argue, and the Reds were beaten at their own game.
There’s no escaping that there were another warning signs for Liverpool, however, who were really testing just how long they could keep this up. The answer as far as Slot will be concerned would have been not much longer. The Dutchman would have been well aware that any repeat of his side’s performance in previous weeks could end in far worse results.
It’s also worth noting that it was once again almost an unexpected hero who emerged and not the big-money men. Alexander Isak had a couple of chances that he, at his best, should be scoring. Wirtz, meanwhile, struggled off the left and only showed some signs of life in the middle of the park in the second period. Once again, in truth, the German had an afternoon to forget.
It’s now six Premier League games without a goal or assist, with patience beginning to run out around those watching on. Those at Anfield know the talent that they’ve signed, but he will need to show more than glimpses of his talent sooner rather than later.
BBC pundit Sutton was less forgiving than some too, slamming Wirtz for one moment against Palace.
Chris Sutton takes aim at Wirtz
Taking aim at Wirtz, Sutton was particularly shocked by the German’s struggle in front of goal. The former Bayer Leverkusen man did his record little good by missing a chance that he should have converted, ghosting in behind only to shove a close-range effort right at Dean Henderson.
“Wirtz has to score. It’s a brilliant reaction from Henderson, but he should have no right to save that.”
It’s wake-up call for Liverpool. Slot’s side simply must improve. They remain top of the Premier League, but there are several problems for them to fix before they square off against Chelsea in their next league outing next weekend.
Whether that means a decision is coming for Slot regarding Wirtz is the award question that must be asked at Anfield.