Chris Sutton suggests former Liverpool manager is having an even worse time than Slot right now
Arne Slot is currently enduring the worst period of his time at Liverpool, but Chris Sutton believes one of his predecessors in the Anfield dugout is experiencing an even bigger predicament.
Only a quarter of the way through the season, the Reds are already up against it to retain their Premier League title, with a run of four straight top-flight defeats dropping them to seventh place, a full seven points adrift of leaders Arsenal.
North of the border, Celtic are enduring a similar tailspin, with a 3-1 loss to Hearts on Sunday seeing them fall eight points behind the surprise pace-setters in the Scottish Premiership, with pressure duly piling on manager Brendan Rodgers.
Sutton: Celtic are in even bigger crisis than Liverpool
On the 606 phone-in for BBC Radio 5 Live on Sunday, Sutton was asked which of the two reigning champions in England and Scotland are in a deeper crisis right now.
He replied: “That is a great question. I would say Celtic. I mean, that’s a situation which is really hard to measure, and I think you may have a point there.”
However, the former Bhoys striker didn’t spare Liverpool either, adding: “It’s a situation at Liverpool where, you know, there has been a lot of talk about the money which has been spent.
“The issue I’ve got with Liverpool is, I know Mo Salah isn’t firing. Brilliant goal that he scored last night, but he’s not really firing as he did last season.
“Defensively, I just think Liverpool are all over the place and are going to concede goals, and I don’t think you can win titles if you’re leaky at the back.”
Liverpool and Celtic both struggling in respective title defences
In an eerie parallel to 2020/21, both Liverpool and Celtic have fallen back significantly in attempting to retain their respective league titles, with neither team even coming close to doing so in that campaign.
A look at the Scottish Premiership table in isolation wouldn’t suggest that Rodgers’ team are in any major crisis as they sit second (compared to the Reds being seventh in the Premier League), but points-wise they’re further off the top than Slot’s ailing champions in their division.
Whatever problems the Bhoys might be experiencing, LFC fans will be solely preoccupied with their own team’s malaise, with Sutton echoing two of our former players in John Aldridge and Jamie Carragher in highlighting the Merseysiders’ inescapable defensive woes.
What stings even more is that many of the goals Liverpool are giving away aren’t exactly Puskas Award contenders – the first two against Brentford may have been well-taken by the respective scorers, but in both instances the standard of defending from the Reds was appalling.
A seven-point gap to Arsenal isn’t insurmountable this early in the season, but Slot will be acutely aware that his team can’t afford to drop much further back on the Gunners if they’re to prevent their hopes of back-to-back titles from fizzling out before Christmas.
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