What Gary Neville just said about Liverpool must surely sting Reds players into a firm response
Gary Neville has issued a stinging criticism of Liverpool after their defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday, stating his belief that the Reds have become ‘soft’.
A chastening night at the Vitality Stadium saw Arne Slot’s side concede three very preventable goals, particularly the scrappy stoppage-time winner from Amine Adli which had Virgil van Dijk protesting about an alleged foul on him just before the Cherries attacker scored.
There was also a farcical element to the home side’s second goal, which came at a time when the visitors had only 10 players on the pitch as Joe Gomez had gone off injured and Wataru Endo hadn’t yet been brought on as a substitute, a situation that Jamie Redknapp described as ‘amateurish’.
Neville hits out at ‘soft’ Liverpool
Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast on Sunday, the ex-Manchester United defender didn’t hold back in his observations about Liverpool, who he claims have now become a soft touch for opposition teams.
He said: “They’ve looked vulnerable, and I thought for the first time [on Saturday] watching them, they looked a little bit soft. Virgil van Dijk is a giant but when he gets nudged off the ball at the end by Adli – you can’t get nudged off the ball.
“The goal when Gomez was off the pitch, again it’s soft this idea that you can’t defend with 10 men. That ball gets played inside [Milos] Kerkez that we’ve seen how many times this season. There’s a softness to them.
“Last season we couldn’t praise you any more; and for the first few months of this season, even up to December, I’ve been hanging back. They’ve had injuries, had issues, lost their directness up top quite a bit. Diogo Jota, God rest his soul, and Luis Diaz were direct players and would go for defenders and not think about it too much.
“They’ve become a bit nice, and that’s not them. I thought they were cutting last season. They have lost sharpness in their attacks and have gone soft in terms of defending. They’re easier to play against. It’s a real problem for them, and that’s a bad one for them [on Saturday].”
Liverpool players may well be stung by ‘soft’ accusations
For a professional footballer operating at an elite level, one of the most cutting criticisms which can be levelled at you is to be labelled ‘soft’, and Neville’s words may sting within the Liverpool dressing room.
The vulnerability which cost us against Bournemouth isn’t exactly a new phenomenon this season – in some ways it was reminiscent of the defeat at Brentford in October, another away game in which the Reds were bullied by an opposition team who scored off a long throw-in.
Other than the scoreline, a couple of statistics from Saturday will have vexed Slot. His team lost 31 out of 57 ground duels (54%) and were dispossessed eight times to the Cherries’ three (Sofascore), figures which indicate that the champions had a worryingly soft underbelly to them.
Liverpool’s weaknesses in defending set-piece situations have been prevalent throughout the campaign, and the concession of Adli’s winner was another sorry addition to that back catalogue of horror as they failed with several opportunties to clear from a long throw.
As Neville said, the Reds have become a soft touch at both ends of the pitch compared to last season, with opposition teams knowing that a well-organised defence could thwart us and that set-piece prowess could undo us at the other end of the pitch.
Thick-skinned as professional footballers are, the criticism of LFC that they’ve become ‘soft’ ought to sting them into an affirmative response on the field over the coming weeks and months.
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