Liverpool Legend Slams Team as 'A Mess,' Calls for Arne Slot to Launch Major Rebuild
Ex-Liverpool centre-back Jamie Carragher urged Arne Slot to drop Florian Wirtz from the first team during a harsh critique of the "chaos" surrounding the current Premier League title holders.
For only the second occasion during Slot's management, Liverpool suffered back-to-back losses, meekly falling to a 1-0 reverse against Galatasaray on Tuesday night, just three days following Crystal Palace's victory that ended their perfect start to the campaign.
Multiple subpar displays plagued Liverpool's squad in Istanbul. Ryan Gravenberch appeared unusually nervous and was substituted early, Dominik Szoboszlai conceded the penalty that produced the match's sole goal, while Virgil van Dijk struggled to contain Victor Osimhen. However, Carragher's criticism centered on the £116 million ($156.3 million) summer signing.
"Currently I believe the team's balance isn't correct and the clear issue is Florian Wirtz," the former England defender declared on CBS Sports.
"He's simply not performing at the required level. He's a young player adapting to a new competition—he has ample opportunity to succeed as a Liverpool player but presently I believe he should be removed from the starting lineup, Liverpool should return to last season's approach and rebuild from there, restoring confidence and defensive stability.
"Because currently it's chaotic. It's not about the defeats, it's not about the losses. This situation has been developing since the beginning."
Wirtz again struggled to make an impact in Tuesday's match, attempting three shots and providing two chances without success. The German midfielder remains goalless for his new club and hasn't recorded an assist in any tournament since the Community Shield.
"I'm not observing an elite team," Carragher criticized. "Liverpool aren't playing proper football currently, they're playing basketball. It's simply back and forth and I don't believe top teams perform like that."
Carragher suggested that Slot's team attempted to "add some magic" to a "functional" squad through their summer recruitment. "And they haven't improved offensively but they have weakened significantly defensively," the former defender complained.
"I think for the coach now, last season was such an easy journey for them, he must now truly prove his worth."
"This was inevitable," Carragher cautioned. "This isn't surprising. And the manager must resolve it."
Slot: Liverpool 'Outmaneuvered' by Galatasaray
Instead of any tactical puzzle, Slot bemoaned his team's lack of game awareness.
Discussing the penalty that Szoboszlai gave away following minimal contact on Barış Alper Yılmaz, Slot remarked: "We are occasionally outmaneuvered in these situations and I cannot fault Dominik Szoboszlai for what happened. They turned a 20% penalty into a 100% penalty, which is very clever from their perspective.
"We aren't that distant [from last season's standard]. This is occasionally what the fixture list can produce—Galatasaray isn't an easy opponent. We now face Chelsea away, another challenging fixture.
"The differences are minimal and they were last season. For the second consecutive time we're on the losing side.
"I observed many positive aspects in the first half, but the second half was far inferior. I don't believe there was much actual playing time in the second half. Their forward was down four or five occasions. It was challenging to establish rhythm in the match."