‘This is not Liverpool’ – Jermaine Pennant calls out Arne Slot after latest dose of Reds woe
Jermaine Pennant took aim at Arne Slot’s tactical approach after Liverpool’s miserable season hit another sobering low point on Tuesday night.
For the seventh time in the Premier League this season, the Reds conceded a result-altering goal in stoppage time as Andre Trindade’s shot deflected off Joe Gomez and into the net to give Wolves just their third top-flight win of the campaign.
It came at the end of a match which had led another ex-LFC player in Stephen Warnock to bemoan a ‘slow’ and ‘boring’ performance from the champions, who conceded from 50% of the shots that they faced throughout the entire game.
Pennant slams Slot over Liverpool tactics
Taking to X shortly after the final whistle, Pennant hit out at Slot over Liverpool’s lack of energy and pressing against the team rooted to the bottom of the table.
The former Reds winger posted: ‘Right, I know Arne Slot isn’t on the pitch, but wow!!! They are his tactics, his style, and his instructions… you are playing Wolves, not Arsenal not Man City. Press them from the front; for once try win the ball high. This is not Liverpool. Sorry, it’s just not.’
Wolves outfought Liverpool in many aspects
Even apart from the humiliating scoreline, the underlying statistics from tonight’s match should have the LFC head coach twitching in his sleep.
As per Sofascore, Wolves won more duels (56%-44%), made more tackles (25-16) and had a higher tackle success rate (64%-56%), with the efforts of Rob Edwards’ side being rewarded as they made the most of their few chances, whereas Liverpool didn’t with their (comparative) many.
Even though the Reds had 19 shots to the Old Gold’s four, Jose Sa didn’t have to put in a Herculean performance to keep the visitors at bay, although he did make one excellent fingertip save to deny Rio Ngumoha.
With all due respect to the home side, the disparity in league positions and squad cost ought to have been reflected in the final scoreline, but Slot’s team were painfully impotent in the first half in particular and weren’t a great deal better after the interval.
It wasn’t as though it took a moment of brilliance to win it for Wolves, either – James Pearce described the deflected winner as ‘a mess of a goal’, and that in itself says it all about Liverpool this season.
Their head coach needs a result and ideally a convincing performance against the same opposition in the FA Cup on Friday to quell some of the discontent which’ll resurface after this appalling setback.
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