‘It is worrying…’ – Daniel Sturridge calls out Slot over one thing he noticed from Liverpool today

The former Red striker said: “It is worrying. For me, what’s concerning is the consistency of the counterattacks they’re conceding. No-one really in the midfield or the attack is stopping the play higher up on the pitch.

“The identity is not there. They need to build a team that is in Arne’s identity but right now I’m not quite sure what that is. We knew with Jurgen. With Arne, we’ve seen a possession-based team who are slightly more methodical. When you look at the statistics of the team this year, the stats are way down across the board.

“You want phases of play. Right now, there’s not any phases of play for Liverpool. It’s quite one-on-one.”

(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

However, Sturridge later added that he’d like Slot to be given the chance to fix the issues in his team for next season, stating: “They can get Champions League football, regroup, decide on the framework, decide on the players who are with you. You’ve got to give the man a chance to implement the philosophy.”

What exactly are Liverpool under Slot?

The pundit’s concerns about Liverpool on the counterattack are quite pertinent, with the Reds all too easily cut open by Man United this afternoon, most crucially in the lead-up to Benjamin Sesko’s controversial goal.

It’s one thing for players to be culpable of mistakes on the pitch, which Alexis Mac Allister was with his slack pass to give away possession. It’s another to continually deploy a tactical setup which is ridiculously easy for opponents to punish.

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Within a few months we knew what LFC were under Klopp – a high-pressing, hard-working, all-action outfit which could be defensively suspect but were committed to outscoring the opposition. Two years into Slot’s reign, what are his Liverpool side, exactly?

Sturridge may be pleading for the board to keep faith in the 47-year-old to ‘implement his philosophy’, but should that not already have been drilled into his team by this stage of his tenure in charge?

The Reds should do enough to qualify for the Champions League, which’d likely be enough to keep the Dutchman in a job, but the scrutiny over his position will no doubt continue into the summer after a truly dismal sophomore season at the helm.