Wayne Rooney has slammed Liverpool's 'leaders' after the Reds fell to a disappointing 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon. Goals from Murillo, Nicolo Savona and Morgan Gibbs-White condemned the Premier League champions to a sixth league defeat of the season as their title defence lies in tatters following another subpar showing.
AFPLiverpool enduring a difficult campaign
Liverpool were already eight points off league leaders Arsenal heading into the weekend's action and they needed a victory over Sean Dyche's Forest side in order to kickstart a comeback in the title race. However, they could be 11 points behind the Gunners should Mikel Arteta's men claim all the spoils in the north London derby against Tottenham on Sunday.
The Reds have now lost as many games as newly-promoted Leeds ahead of their meeting with Aston Villa today and the Merseyside outfit are struggling to match last season's expectations that saw them secure a first Premier League title since 2020. The tragic passing of Diogo Jota combined with player upheaval has contributed to a poor opening few months of the campaign.
And former Manchester United and Everton striker Wayne Rooney tore into the Reds on Match of the Day on Saturday night, with the ex-England hero pointing fingers at the club's 'leaders' in the dressing room as a reason behind the poor form.
AdvertisementThe leaders need to pick the players up, says Rooney
In the post-Liverpool vs Forest segment on Match of the Day, Rooney said: "Liverpool are a very good team and they're going through a very difficult moment. They've been going through a tough time all season really. Even at the beginning of the season, they won games, but they were struggling with performance. Throughout the season, it's those leaders in that dressing room that have to pick the players up."
Rooney added that unless the club can sort themselves out in the coming weeks, then they'll be the latest Big Six side to drop down the Premier League table, continuing: "We've seen it over the last few years with Manchester United and we've seen it last year with Tottenham, they can slip down the table."
United endured their worst ever Premier League finish under Ruben Amorim last season, as they finished 15th. Combined with a Europa League final loss to Tottenham, the Red Devils are going through a campaign without any European football of note.
Spurs, meanwhile, ended their lengthy wait for silverware as they beat United 1-0 in Bilbao in May, but the league form suffered as the north London side prioritised the Europa League, which meant they finish 17th on 38 points.
Getty Images SportLiverpool boss Slot laments 'another big disappointment'
Liverpool boss Arne Slot admitted after the loss to Forest that the result itself was "another big disappointment" with the Reds now on a run of six defeats in their last seven league outings.
"Another big disappointment," Slot started after Saturday's defeat. "We started off quite well for the first half an hour. We conceded the 1-0, and we weren’t able to play the way we did in the first half hour.
"If things go well or things go bad, it’s my responsibility. We weren’t able to create enough. I tried to adjust a few things, but it didn’t work out. We were unable to score a goal. You never know in this stadium, if you score a goal, then things can work out."
Getty Images SportReds not up to 'battles, challenges, the fight' states Van Dijk
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk also claimed that the club are not up to the "battles, challenges, the fight" as the Dutchman discussed the performance with Premier League Productions.
"We concede too many easy goals," Van Dijk started. "They scored obviously from a set piece again. You can ask if he was in front of Alisson, but it counted, so we’re 1-0 down. We were not good in terms of battles, challenges, the fight, too rushed. It’s a very difficult situation at the moment.
"There was nervousness after we conceded, but not before. We tried to rush things and that’s human when you’re in a difficult moment. We cleared the ones before and in the end, we’re in a very difficult moment. We don’t get out of it by just speaking about it. It will take a lot of hard work.
"It’s a problem. Everyone in the team has to take responsibility as well. Football is a team and everyone has to take responsibility. We have to digest this and take it on the chin. We need to work harder. We have to keep going."
The Reds skipper continued "We concede too many easy goals. They scored obviously from a set piece again. You can ask if he was in front of Alisson, but it counted, so we’re 1-0 down. We were not good in terms of battles, challenges, the fight, too rushed. It’s a very difficult situation at the moment.
"There was nervousness after we conceded, but not before. We tried to rush things and that’s human when you’re in a difficult moment. We cleared the ones before and in the end, we’re in a very difficult moment. We don’t get out of it by just speaking about it. It will take a lot of hard work.
"It’s a problem. Everyone in the team has to take responsibility as well. Football is a team and everyone has to take responsibility. We have to digest this and take it on the chin. We need to work harder. We have to keep going.
"I can’t decide what the supporters are doing if they leave early. I know the fans have been through thick and thin with us. They will be there with us when we come out of this because we will come out of this."