Liverpool 1 Leeds 2 Graeme Souness Rips into Jurgen Klopp Liverpool after Their Defeat to Leeds
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2022-10-30
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Graeme Souness has slammed Liverpool after their 2-1 defeat to Leeds on Saturday night.
Jurgen Klopp's woes were worsened as Crysencio Summerville's late winner for Leeds handed the Reds their fourth defeat of the season and their first home loss for 19 months.
The night started in disastrous fashion after Rodrigo pounced on a Joe Gomez mistake, before Mohamed Salah levelled the game.
Leeds keeper Ilan Meslier pulled off several fine saves before Summerville netted in the 89th minute to lift Jesse Marsch's side out of the bottom three and leave the Reds in ninth place - eight points off the Champions League spots after just 12 games.
And Souness, speaking after the game on Sky Sports insisted that this Liverpool team is a shadow of their former selves.
He said: 'Liverpool are a country mile from what they were in the last few years.
'They don't play with the same intensity. I think in many instances tonight, Leeds were more than a match for what Liverpool have been doing to teams for years.
'Liverpool used to bully teams, their midfield bullied teams. And now they're being bullied.
'They still had enough chances to win the game, the man-of-the-match is a goalkeeper (Leeds stopper Meslier) - that does tell the story.
'Liverpool are not like the team we have seen for the last five years. They just don't have the same intensity. They don't have it in their legs anymore.
When trying to pinpoint what the particular problems were for Liverpool, Souness highlighted the lack of players in the midfield who were at the peak of their careers.
That area of the pitch has been a particular talking point for Klopp who in the summer repeatedly announced he wouldn't add in midfield, before making a late move for Arthur Melo - the Juventus loanee has played just 13 minutes of football and is now expected to be out until the new year.
Souness added: 'I think when you look at the midfield. Thiago 31, Henderson 31, Fabinho 29. And after that you have Keita who is about 27, you have Oxlade-Chamberlain who is out and is injured at 29.
'Go back to start of the season, Jurgen said his midfield felt vulnerable because with the age group and the chances of injuries.
'We know it is a very hard league to play in and it's a long nine months at times, so to expect the two young guys to come in and take you through most of the season is a big ask.
'I've said it since the start of the season, the midfield they have now is no longer the midfield that is going to win them the big trophies.
Despite the dismal defeat for Liverpool, Souness was full of praise for Jesse Marsch's side following their memorable win.
He said: 'Leeds were a team playing under pressure. Jimmy (Floyd Hasselbaink) said they were a young team. They didn't play like a young team tonight.
'They played like a team that really believed in what they were gonna do, believed they would get a result. You could say a lucky first goal but that's not the reason Liverpool lost the game.'
Jurgen Klopp's woes were worsened as Crysencio Summerville's late winner for Leeds handed the Reds their fourth defeat of the season and their first home loss for 19 months.
The night started in disastrous fashion after Rodrigo pounced on a Joe Gomez mistake, before Mohamed Salah levelled the game.
Leeds keeper Ilan Meslier pulled off several fine saves before Summerville netted in the 89th minute to lift Jesse Marsch's side out of the bottom three and leave the Reds in ninth place - eight points off the Champions League spots after just 12 games.
And Souness, speaking after the game on Sky Sports insisted that this Liverpool team is a shadow of their former selves.
He said: 'Liverpool are a country mile from what they were in the last few years.
'They don't play with the same intensity. I think in many instances tonight, Leeds were more than a match for what Liverpool have been doing to teams for years.
'Liverpool used to bully teams, their midfield bullied teams. And now they're being bullied.
'They still had enough chances to win the game, the man-of-the-match is a goalkeeper (Leeds stopper Meslier) - that does tell the story.
'Liverpool are not like the team we have seen for the last five years. They just don't have the same intensity. They don't have it in their legs anymore.
When trying to pinpoint what the particular problems were for Liverpool, Souness highlighted the lack of players in the midfield who were at the peak of their careers.
That area of the pitch has been a particular talking point for Klopp who in the summer repeatedly announced he wouldn't add in midfield, before making a late move for Arthur Melo - the Juventus loanee has played just 13 minutes of football and is now expected to be out until the new year.
Souness added: 'I think when you look at the midfield. Thiago 31, Henderson 31, Fabinho 29. And after that you have Keita who is about 27, you have Oxlade-Chamberlain who is out and is injured at 29.
'Go back to start of the season, Jurgen said his midfield felt vulnerable because with the age group and the chances of injuries.
'We know it is a very hard league to play in and it's a long nine months at times, so to expect the two young guys to come in and take you through most of the season is a big ask.
'I've said it since the start of the season, the midfield they have now is no longer the midfield that is going to win them the big trophies.
Despite the dismal defeat for Liverpool, Souness was full of praise for Jesse Marsch's side following their memorable win.
He said: 'Leeds were a team playing under pressure. Jimmy (Floyd Hasselbaink) said they were a young team. They didn't play like a young team tonight.
'They played like a team that really believed in what they were gonna do, believed they would get a result. You could say a lucky first goal but that's not the reason Liverpool lost the game.'
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