Digging Deeper Into Liverpool’s Derby Loss To Manchester United

Losers

**Alexis Mac Allister** It was another poor performance in a poor season for Mac Alliseter. The Argentine midfielder was left to cover large swathes of space with the tactical set up, and he was bypassed all too frequently. He had several unconvincing clearances, including a poor effort that placed the ball directly into the path of Kolby Mainoo for Manchester United’s third goal. **Jeremie Frimpong** Arne Slot yet again showed the world he thinks Frimpong is an attacker rather than a right back, deploying the diminutive Dutchman as the right winger in place of the injured Mohamed Salah while midfielder Curtis Jones manned the right back slot. Frimpong’s speed did cause some problems for Manchester United at times, but he was not sharp on the ball, turning it over 4 times. He also struggled to generate any attacking output, finishing with 0 shots and 0 key passes after fluffing a couple of opportunities. **Alexander Isak** The Swedish striker was missing yet again through an injury after rumors started swirling late Saturday that he was a doubt. It’s another big miss in a match where Liverpool really could have used him, if nothing else as a body to occasionally occupy the Man U center backs. **Arne Slot** The Dutch head coach (not to be confused with manager) is now tied with Rafa Benitez for the most losses in a season across all competitions while in charge of Liverpool with 19. Not exactly the type of records you want to match, and there are still three matches to go the break it.

Dissecting the Narrative

It has been a season if disappointment for Liverpool as they have racked up some not-so-great milestones. With the loss against Manchester United, the Reds have suffered being swept on the season by their regional rivals for the first time in a decade. It also was the 19th loss across all competitions on the year, and the 11th in the Premier League. That ties Arne Slot for the most losses in a season. The only consolation for Liverpool is that the rest of the league has been quite terrible as well. A top 3 finish is now even more unlikely, but finishing in the top five to qualify for the Champions League is still somehow fairly likely with a 6 point cushion over Bournemouth in 6th with 3 matches left to play.

What Happens Next

Three more matches to limp through to get to the end of the season, with a home match against Chelsea up next Saturday. Liverpool in theory need to pick up some points if they want to ensure they finish in the top 5 and qualify for Champions League. All of the remaining matches are against teams in the hunt for UCL spots. Cool, what could possibly go wrong.