Sports
Slot must drop Liverpool dud who lost the ball 19x v Leeds
Liverpool opened their 2025 with a very entertaining 2-2 draw versus Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United.
To see in 2026, another draw was on the menu, but – as the Athletic’s James Pearce would state – it was a “dour” affair, with the final scoreline reading as 0-0 between Arne Slot’s Reds and Daniel Farke’s Leeds United.
After four wins on the trot in all competitions, this is a thud back to reality for the reigning Premier League champions, with just one paltry shot on target registered on Lucas Perri’s goal in the second half from the lacklustre hosts.
Florian Wirtz had hoped he’d turned a corner at Anfield, with a goal and an assist collected against Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers in December, but he lacked confidence again down the left wing versus a stern Leeds side.
Wirtz’s poor performance in numbers
Having been lauded as being “brilliant” over the last few weeks pre-match by Sky Sports pundit Daniel Sturridge, the former Bayer Leverkusen attacker would have been hopeful he could start his 2026 how he ended his up-and-down 2025.
Unfortunately for the Anfield masses, he reverted to type, looking timid in the Liverpool forward areas against Leeds, with only one of his four shots on the well-guarded Leeds net actually hitting the target. One of those efforts was blazed way over in the first half.
Moreover, Wirtz failed to complete a successful dribble, despite running rings around the Wolves’ defence with seven successful forays forward.
Coming up short with two of his three tackles on the night, as well, it was a very weak display from a midfielder who needs to start putting in consistent performances soon, to be considered anywhere near worthy of his £116m price tag.
Having put in an “alarmingly poor” display, it will be intriguing to see if the Dutchman persists with Wirtz down this left channel, with Cody Gakpo also up his sleeve as the Reds face Fulham next.
Slot won’t just have this selection issue weighing heavily on his mind, though.
Liverpool star must be dropped after Leeds
Defensively, Slot would have been pleased with the likes of Ibrahima Konate, as the often shaky centre-back won all ten of his duels bravely, to help Alisson keep his 100th clean sheet in the Premier League.
But, he would have been left feeling less enthused by Conor Bradley’s performance in the right-back spot, as the 22-year-old’s tenth Premier League start of the season so far conjured up one of his worst displays to date.
|
Bradley’s performance in numbers |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Bradley |
|
Minutes played |
79 |
|
Goals scored |
0 |
|
Assists |
0 |
|
Touches |
70 |
|
Accurate passes |
31/41 (76%) |
|
Key passes |
0 |
|
Accurate crosses |
0/2 |
|
Possession lost |
19x |
|
Successful dribbles |
1/1 |
|
Tackles won |
0 |
|
Total duels won |
5/10 |
|
Stats by Sofascore |
|
Much like Wirtz, the Northern Irishman did shine against Rob Edwards’ men to see out 2025 in style, with five tackles and duels won to keep the Old Gold at bay.
Up against Leeds, though, the number 12 was far from valiant in this department, with only 50% of his duels won come the full-time whistle, alongside Bradley going in for zero challenges up against a determined Whites outfit.
He also failed to offer up much in an attacking capacity, as the right-hand side was dominated by Jeremie Frimpong, constantly bursting forward with pace to burn, with only one dribble successfully pulled off and zero accurate crosses being delivered into the danger area by Bradley.
Carelessly giving up possession 19 times, too, Slot won’t feel too confident in sticking by the one-time Bolton Wanderers loanee, with Frimpong perhaps pushed back to the right-back position against Fulham, considering Wirtz’s former teammate in the Bundesliga managed to win five duels himself, as a livewire presence.
Even Wirtz would keep hold of the ball slightly better, with possession squandered 15 times in total by the high-profile signing, in contrast, as both of Liverpool’s flanks on the night were cursed by some off performances.
He would also, at least, come away from the game with two key passes collected, but it was still far from a stellar showing from the hot-and-cold number seven.
Slot will hope for a much livelier all-round display from his troops when they travel to Craven Cottage next, as he cursed his side’s lack of cutting edge post-match, with both Bradley and Wirtz definitely in danger of dropping out of his starting XI plans.
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