'Sounds so basic': Gary Neville explains what ‘hurts’ him about Liverpool’s style this season

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Liverpool lost their first game this season away to Crystal Palace, but there is still a lot to love about the team’s style of play.It was no surprise that the Eagles would pose a threat to the Reds’ unbeaten run in the Premier League, and the way Oliver Glasner’s side approached their 2-1 win at Selhurst Park was nothing short of exceptional.Arne Slot had no answers in the first half to the Palace pressure as his team conceded and gave away multiple big chances. The second half was more dominant for Liverpool, but their late Federico Chiesa equaliser was cancelled out by a last-gasp Eddie Nketiah winner.It was a deserved loss given the way Slot’s side have played in some games; however, it is a difficult blow to take so early on in a league title defence that has started to heat up.Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty ImagesArsenal’s 2-1 victory over Newcastle United was celebrated as if it were a pivotal moment, even though it is only September, although it is a result that could worry the Merseyside club.Gary Neville ‘hurt’ that Liverpool are an exciting team to watchBut it is very early on, and these kinds of races do not usually take shape until the early parts of next year, and the way Slot’s team have thrown caution to the wind in games has made it an exciting journey for fans so far.These next two games in the Champions League and domestically, before the international break, will be very telling for what Liverpool’s mentality will be this season, as they need to respond to this loss.After watching the win for the Gunners, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville gave his assessment of the Dutchman’s side following a disappointing performance against a surging Glasner side.READ MORE: Jason McAteer surprised over what Liverpool boss Arne Slot seems to have said about Jeremie FrimpongDuring The Gary Neville Podcast, the former Manchester United player did not believe this loss would be too much of a setback for a side he has loved to watch this season, even if admitting that it hurts him as a Mancunian.On what it was exactly that he loved to see from this side, Neville explained: “There is something to think about for Liverpool, but I like the way they play when I go watch Liverpool play.“It hurts me to think that they are exciting the way they approach the game, they take chances, they have loads of attacking options, they always look to score loads of goals, and score more goals than the opposition, which sounds really basic.“But they are not sat back looking to pinch games, they are really going punch for punch, throwing everything they can.

So I have a lot of admiration for the way in which they do it. I think you do get caught out from time to time, but I think they are going to be in a hell of a race with Arsenal this year.”Gary Neville weighs in on the effects of the Hugo Ekitike red cardThe defeat away from Anfield was not the only talking point from Liverpool’s week, with Hugo Ekitike’s red card causing a big debate over his decision to take his shirt off while already on a yellow card.It was lambasted all week as it meant that he was not available for the Palace game, and in hindsight, he may have been very useful in breaking down such a compact side.The Frenchman will now be back for both games this week; however, Neville felt that the fact he did not start against the South London club because of the red card incident was an issue.“Ekitike getting sent off in the Carabao Cup, we had a debate in the week whether that was a bad one and whether he should be rollicked for it or whether he should be let off because he is a young kid,” he said.“I actually thought it was one that could cost you a little bit at the time, and I thought it was a silly one.

If he had been there on Saturday, he may have been able to get Liverpool over the line. I’m not blaming him, but things like that make a difference.”It is difficult to know what would have happened if Ekitike was on the pitch, but looking at how well Palace set up and performed, you cannot deny that they were just the better side on Saturday.