‘My biggest concern…’ – Steve Nicol voices Liverpool worry which has been a recurring theme
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Steve Nicol has bemoaned the Jekyll-and-Hyde nature of Liverpool this season after they were humbled by the Premier League’s bottom club Wolves on Tuesday night.The Reds’ aspirations of qualifying for the Champions League were dented by a 2-1 loss at Molineux as, for the fifth time this season, they conceded a winning goal in stoppage time, with Andre Trindade inflicting the damage on this occasion.While Joe Hart remains confident that LFC will ultimately finish in the top five, results such as this add to the anxiety for supporters who began the campaign with much higher aspirations.Nicol: You don’t know what you’re going to get with LiverpoolSpeaking on ESPN FC after this latest chastening result for Arne Slot’s side, Nicol took aim at the unpredictable nature of his former club, who took five points off table-topping Arsenal this term but have also lost to the team in last place.The pundit lamented: “My biggest concern is that it doesn’t matter who Liverpool play against… they can lose.“It’s one thing to talk about big games in a season, but when you’re team is stepping on a field regardless of the situation and you’re not sure what you’re going to get, that’s not a decision acceptable at a club like Liverpool. Everybody who plays against Liverpool know they’re going to get a shot and probably going to score.” (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)Liverpool’s results against lower-placed teams have been appallingEven when the Reds encountered difficulty against the likes of Southampton and Leicester (who were both relegated) last season, there was always a sense that they’d gather themselves and strike back to win, which duly happened in those fixtures.In contrast, whenever they’ve gone behind against teams at the wrong end of the table this term, the only sense of inevitability is that it’ll be another bad day to add to that already top-heavy pile.In 11 matches against the current bottom six in the Premier League, Liverpool have dropped 12 points (and that would’ve been 14 were it not for Alexis Mac Allister’s last-gasp winner at Nottingham Forest recently).
That is criminal when Champions League qualification is on the line.As Nicol says, even the teams at the foot of the table aren’t daunted by facing Slot’s side anymore. Wolves were happy to soak up whatever ‘pressure’ there was from the Reds last night before capitalising on two late errors, scoring twice despite only having four shots in the entire match.From watching that horror show at Molineux, you wouldn’t think this is the same LFC team which has beaten Arsenal, Real Madrid and Inter Milan this season.