Liverpool’s defeat to Manchester City marked the second consecutive time that the Premier League champions have entered the international break on the back of a loss. The Reds suffered a 3-0 defeat at the Etihad, their fifth league loss in six matches. Despite showing signs of improvement with a 2-0 victory against Aston Villa and a 1-0 win over Real Madrid, morale plummeted to a new low in Manchester.
Comprehensively outplayed by their opponents, defeat left Liverpool in eighth place, trailing league leaders Arsenal by eight points after just 11 matches. With the third international break of the season now underway, Arne Slot is once again under immense pressure to pull the Reds out of their current crisis in what has been a disappointing defence of their title.
Here, Express Sport provides an update on the latest news from Anfield, as the Dutch manager faces criticism for apparently not trusting one of his summer signings, while one Liverpool star previously thought his future was away from Merseyside.
Milos Kerkez verdict
The first few months have been challenging for most of Liverpool’s summer signings, with Milos Kerkez notably struggling to adjust to life at Anfield. Despite being one of the Premier League’s top full-backs last season at Bournemouth, the Hungarian has failed to replicate the form that persuaded Liverpool to spend £40million on him.
The 22-year-old started the campaign as Slot’s preferred left-back ahead of Andy Robertson, but the seasoned Scot has reclaimed his spot and featured in the last three fixtures across all competitions.
His demotion to the substitutes’ bench has left Chris Sutton certain that he has fallen out of favour with the manager. Speaking on the BBC’s Monday Night Club podcast, the former Chelsea forward said: “Arne Slot hung his hat on Kerkez at the start of the season, Robertson was out in the cold and, all of a sudden, I think he has lost faith in Kerkez.”
Conor Bradley claim
Following a lacklustre beginning to the campaign for Conor Bradley, the Northern Ireland international has rediscovered his best form recently with outstanding displays against Aston Villa and Real Madrid. The 22-year-old was viewed as the Reds’ future successor to Trent Alexander-Arnold, but the acquisition of Jeremie Frimpong cast uncertainty over that possibility.
It was only in May when Bradley penned a new four-year contract after establishing himself as a crucial squad player under Jürgen Klopp and now Slot. It was throughout the 2023/24 season that he enjoyed his breakthrough moment, but before that, he faced serious doubts about his Anfield prospects during his temporary stint at Bolton Wanderers.
Speaking last year, he said: “They told me that they wouldn’t forget about me when I was out on loan. But at the time, you don’t really believe it. You think, ‘A loan, that’s sort of me done here.’ But you have to keep working hard.
“I played around 50 games for Bolton, and it was the best thing for me at that time. It turned me into what I am now; it changed me from a boy into a man. I’m so grateful for the opportunity Bolton gave me to go and play so many games there. It got me ready for coming back at Liverpool and giving it my best shot.”
Despite having a challenging night at the Etihad Stadium against Jeremy Doku, Bradley still managed to put on an impressive performance. His efforts did not go unnoticed by Manchester City’s manager Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola praised him, saying: “Conor, the right-back, I was really, really impressed with. Pep Lijnders said he could do everything. I know the game against Madrid how good he was against Vinicius. And Jeremy [Doku] handled it, aggressive with and without the ball. He played an outstanding game.”