familiar formula condemns liverpool to painful defeat vs. man United
the hit
“Supermassive Black Hole,” Muse (2006)
10/19 | Premier league | liverpool 1, manchester united 2
When I stop to think about it, I’m not sure why I’m that surprised that Liverpool has lost four games in a row for the first time since November 2014. For the better part of two years, the life of a Liverpool fan has been a succession of implausibilities.
Just after my morning alarm went off in January of last year, my wife welcomed me into consciousness with the news that Jurgen Klopp, one of my idols, was leaving the club at the end of the season.
What?
As the “I’m running out of energy” memes circulated, we came to learn that it wouldn’t be Xabi Alonso, Roberto De Zerbi, or Ruben Amorim who would lead the club forward, but Arne Slot, the Feyenoord manager who none of us, save the most hardcore European football fans, had ever heard of.
What?
Fast forward to the end of the 2024 summer transfer window. Slot had welcomed in just two signings: a backup goalkeeper (even though Caoimhin Kelleher would remain at the club) and the once world-class, now injury-plagued Federico Chiesa.
What?
Eight months later, Slot led Liverpool to its 20th league title at a canter, leaving heavily favored Arsenal and Manchester City 10 and 13 points adrift, respectively, in the final table. Salah scored 34 goals and notched 23 assists, all comps.
What?
Liverpool went on to blow even the highest 2025 summer transfer window expectations out of the water, breaking records to bring in Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, along with the likes of Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, and Jeremie Frimpong. Despite the departures of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz, and Darwin Nunez, everyone recognized the summer business as a statement of intent and an upgrade across departments.
What?
12 games into this season, despite the new additions, the Adidas kits, and the lingering glory of being crowned champions, the team has gotten worse, not better. Our marquee signings haven’t found their feet, the team structure hasn’t clicked, and Salah and Mac Allister in particular — arguably our two best players last season — have become a poor man’s version of themselves, better suited for Liverpool Legends games, not the first team.
I’d ask what again, but after all the other whats, I should’ve expected the unexpected.
The collective reaction to this loss has been — understandably — anger, incredulity, and panic. I qualified a lot of the problems we’ve been having in my last post, but I also said if we went on to lose to United at home, we could all freak out.
I’m worried at this point. The upcoming fall fixtures, which looked like opportunities a few weeks ago, now look like land mines. You let this flailing Man United side beat you at home, extending your losing streak to four, and it feels like anyone can beat you at any time.
Putting the result to one side and focusing on the performance, I’ve seen and heard a lot of “Liverpool deserved to lose that game” arguments in tweets, in articles, and on podcasts. I agree and disagree.
Letting Mbeumo net one minute into the game was inexcusable. We were playing in front of a raucous home crowd against our most bitter rival after three straight aways, coming off a two-week international break, and trying to right the ship after three consecutive losses — not to mention, trying to break the pattern of conceding early, which killed us against Palace (Sarr 9’), Galatasaray (Osimhen 16’), and Chelsea (Caicedo 14’). When you know you have to score, you rush, the same way you naturally sit back when you know you don’t have to score. It negatively impacts mentality, confidence, and game plan, and we couldn’t afford anything less than a rock solid first 20 defensively.
Slot also picked the wrong team — the same team he fielded against Chelsea — after having two weeks to tweak personnel. Mac Allister in particular was a mind-blowing selection. He isn’t “washed” or “cooked,” as the kids say, but he is painfully immobile and low on confidence at the minute, not to mention in much worse form than Curtis Jones, who’s had a quietly good season so far, and Florian Wirtz, a convenient scapegoat for our lack of cohesion in midfield. Jones and Wirtz made an immediate impact in this game, as did the Ekitike and Chiesa subs, which also suggested Slot swung and missed on his starting front three. Isak was completely anonymous except for his one-on-one, which he didn’t take well enough. And I’ll offer this next take as someone who loves Mo Salah so much I named my dog after him: if Liverpool wants to lose possession or kill a chance these days, just pass the ball to Mo. He’s been sub-par all season — against United, he was the footballing equivalent of a black hole.
To recap, we doomed ourselves with the early goal conceded and team selection. We were largely abject in the first half, too, unable to pick up enough second balls or to find the necessary rhythm to create consistent chances. But if you remove the context and look at this game in isolation, you can’t tell me United was the better team. xG favored Liverpool 3.20 to 1.34. Cody Gakpo hit the post three times, and he and Salah both missed sitters (Bruno missed one, too, to be fair, but that was it). The margins in football are tight and the game hinges on a handful of moments and decisions. The defending was lazy and casual for United’s opener, but if Michael Oliver stops the game for a head injury like he should, the game plays out entirely differently. If we take one of our big chances in the first half and go into halftime knotted at 1-1, we don’t have to throw on six forwards to get the late equalizer and leave ourselves vulnerable to a scruffy winner like Maguire’s.
Where I net out, though, is disappointment. Margins, circumstances, luck and lack thereof aside, we’re just better than Man United. We’re better than the body language we’re showing. Mo Salah and Virgil Van Dijk are pillars of the league who I expect more from. Arne Slot has showed he’s too good a tactician to throw game plans out the window at the drop of a hat, no matter the game state. I didn’t turn the game off convinced that United is a different team this season. I didn’t think they did much that well aside from patient, resolute defending. And that’s our big problem right now: you don’t have to be that good to beat us.