18x ball lost: 5/10 Liverpool man is now on borrowed time under Slot

Liverpool nervously got the better of Vitor Pereira’s tricky Wolverhampton Wanderers side 2-1 at Anfield to strengthen their grip on top spot in the Premier League.

It was anything but convincing from Arne Slot‘s men – who gave up 16 shots on their shaky goal across the course of the choppy 90 minutes – but the victory will have been all that mattered come full-time as their lead at the very summit of the top-flight now extends to seven points.

Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah would ultimately bail out a number of underperformers for the hosts with two crucial first-half strikes, as a couple of faces really let the table-topping side down.

Liverpool’s key underperformers

It was an uncharacteristically sloppy display on the ball from the entire collective, with Trent Alexander-Arnold notably way off it in terms of playing out casually from the back.

Indeed, the usually slick full-back would misplace possession 13 times during his forgettable hour or so on the pitch, on top of also failing to register a single on target effort on Jose Sa’s goal when venturing forward.

Alisson in-between the sticks was also wobbly with his distribution out from the back, with just a 63% pass accuracy next to his name come the full-time whistle, on top of also failing to get a glove on a fierce Matheus Cunha effort.

Diogo Jota also fired another unwanted blank, with the ex-Wolves man struggling to ever get going against his former employers by amassing only 20 touches all match.

On the contrary, the Brazilian star, Cunha, showed off his well-known composure when gifting the Old Gold a way back into the edgy contest.

But, away from Jota and the various other underwhelming Reds players named, there was one particularly below-par performance that would have irked Slot watching on.

Robertson’s performance in numbers

Whilst it was heavily reported during the transfer window that Slot will be looking to have a makeover in the attacking positions at Anfield very soon – with Jota, Darwin Nunez and more on the chopping block – he might well feel some fresh personnel is needed soon in the left-back area.

Andy Robertson has received pelters a few times this season already for his dire displays, with the Scotsman only winning two duels all night long during the hotly contested Merseyside Derby, leading to an early substitution taking place.

Robertson was arguably fortunate to last the full 90 minutes against the spirited visitors from the West Midlands, having put in a far more worrying display than the one served up against the Toffees.

Indeed, the one-time Premier League winner would only win 25% of his duels against Pereira’s buoyed on side, with the amount of times he squandered possession also coming in at an alarming 18.

Furthermore, when glancing at the table above, more and more poor numbers come to the surface, with Robertson’s attacking quality non-existent for the most part as zero accurate crosses were registered, alongside zero successful dribbles.

Consequently, the likes of the aforementioned Cunha would grow in confidence knowing an unsure Robertson was positioned in defence attempting to thwart his trickery, culminating in Wolves gaining so much joy in a tense second half.

The end could be nigh now for the long-standing Reds servant – who was handed a low 5/10 rating post-match by Daily Express journalist Charlie Gordon – with talk already emerging that AFC Bournemouth ace Milos Kerkez is on the future shopping list.

This might be the fresh blood Liverpool desire moving forward, as regardless of another victory being picked to shore up their position as the league’s dominant force, there are cracks beginning to show in Slot’s often frightening machine.

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