Gary Neville blasted Liverpool’s late ‘implosion’ at Leeds United after the champions threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 3-3.
The Reds were 2-0 up going into the final 20 minutes thanks to Hugo Ekitike’s brace but capitulated at Elland Road.
Ibrahima Konate gave away a poor penalty for Dominic Calvert-Lewin convert on 73 minutes before Anton Stach levelled two minutes later.
Dominik Szoboszlai thought he had rescued the win when he fired home after 80 minutes but, with 90+6 on the clock, Ao Tanaka equalised from a corner ball.
‘Liverpool, you just can’t trust them,’ Neville said on Sky Sports.
‘You thought it could happen. Arne Slot can’t believe it. It’s a mystery that continues. His team just implode.
‘Arne Slot and the coaches, they were frantically shouting before that corner towards the Liverpool players.’
He added: ‘Liverpool’s implosion, I said it before, is real. This is a game that was comfortable for them at 2-0.
‘For Liverpool, despair, inconsistent, you can’t trust them, you always think something is going to go wrong. They make mistake after mistake after mistake.’
Liverpool blew the chance to climb back into the top five and had to settle for eighth place at the end of the game, 10 points off league leaders Arsenal.
The past week was supposed to be one of revival for Liverpool, with fixtures against struggling West Ham and newcomers Sunderland and Leeds looking highly presentable.
But after a 2-0 win at West Ham restored hope, the Reds contrived to draw 1-1 with Sunderland at Anfield before being pegged back on the road in Yorkshire.
Konate came in for strong criticism after fouling Wilfried Gnonto to give away the penalty and give Leeds a glimmer of hope.
The Frenchman, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has come under scrutiny for a string of errors but he is not the only one.
The vast majority of Liverpool’s stars have suffered a dip in form compared to last season.
A shell-shocked Dominik Szoboszlai told Sky Sports: ‘I don’t know what happened after 2-0. We felt that the game was over and we made sure at the beginning at the game that [we knew] you can never underestimate the team. Maybe after the penalty they had momentum to score 2-2.
‘We came back so it was a good reaction but conceding again from a set-piece is not the nicest way.’
‘After the 2-2 we showed our mentality to come back because we knew we made a mistake to let them come back.
‘What is in the dressing room stays in the dressing room, it’s not for the public. We have to look at ourselves, go home, and ask yourselves if you did everything possible. If the answer is yes, we keep going and the momentum is going to come.
‘Last year we became champions. Now I don’t even know what position we are. Every team is doing well and wants to win against the champions, but we knew that before the season and we have to find solutions.
‘We have to take responsibility, not just the more experienced or guys who have been here longer. We have to fight for this badge.’
Credit must be given to Leeds, who have picked up four points from a fixture run of Manchester City, Chelsea, and Liverpool. They were never going to be pushovers.
Daniel Farke’s side never gave up and, riding the energy of the crowd, mounted a seemingly irresistible comeback to put themselves three points above the drop zone.
Slot told Sky Sports: ‘It’s not the first time we’ve dropped points, conceded in the final minute, or conceded from a set-piece. I can’t explain every single time.
‘The penalty wasn’t a chance for them but we made it a chance for them.
‘Their first chance of the game led to the 2-2. We showed mentality [to score again]. Then a set-piece comes in extra-time, nine minutes of extra-time, and they score.
‘The only one to blame is us because we concede these chances. If you score three goals in an away game, that should be enough to win.
‘He tries to do everything to prevent a cross from coming. If you want to call it a mistake, it’s a mistake from hard work and trying. Yeah, there was contact, that’s for sure. Gnonto was already on his way going to the floor but we should look at ourselves, not the referee or VAR.
‘If you are 2-0 up and control the game completely and the [home] fans were in general quiet, if you concede a goal for 2-1, if you play in this stadium, the fans will always give it a game. Then it went 2-2, we came back with mentality, a great attack.’
On leaving Salah on the bench all game, he said: ‘We didn’t need a goal at that point in time. Today it felt we needed different players like Wata [Endo]. He gave everything.
‘We have to accept the situation we are in and I make choices. The short-term future for Mo is that he goes to the Africa Cup of Nations but before then we play Inter.
‘There’s every reason to be positive. But there’s not a lot other teams need to do to score a goal against us.’
Read more
- Why was Arne Slot ‘far from pleased’ with his team’s performance despite Liverpool’s nail-biting win?
- Arne Slot remains defiant despite back-to-back setbacks: What were his thoughts on Liverpool’s mentality and energy in recent defeats?
- Why is Liverpool’s Arne Slot brushing off ‘excuse’ claims amid a nightmare losing streak?
- Is there hope for Liverpool after their devastating last-minute losses, with van Dijk remaining confident of a turnaround?
- Is Arne Slot’s Liverpool tenure under threat after another disastrous loss, putting him and Salah under the spotlight?
