Four Liverpool stars have been criticised for their behaviour before their Premier League defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford
Liverpool have been accused of displaying disrespect towards Manchester United after a video emerged of several squad members performing keepy-uppies in the tunnel at Old Trafford.
Arne Slot’s side suffered a 3-2 defeat to United in the Premier League on Sunday, with former Liverpool player Don Hutchison now condemning their pre-match behaviour.
Goals from Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko saw United surge into a 2-0 advantage before careless errors allowed Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo to draw level. Kobbie Mainoo’s low drive from the edge of the area secured victory for United, who completed their first league double over Liverpool for 10 years.
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The result highlighted Liverpool’s struggles and footage showed the casual mood amongst senior players before kick-off did little to help their cause. Video shared on social media showed Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong passing a ball around inside the Old Trafford tunnel.
That provoked criticism from Hutchison, who represented the club in the early 1990s. He wrote on X: “I can’t get my head around the Liverpool players doing keepy-ups inside the Man Utd tunnel. [Jurgen] Klopp + [Jordan] Henderson + [James] Milner etc etc would never have allowed these sort of standards to drop.”
Asked to elaborate on his comments, Hutchison added: “I think the issue with this is.. I looks like disrespect to the opposition that you’re doing keeps-ups in their tunnel. Not focused.
“Concentrate on the team meeting/the instructions from the coaches/tactics. Be diligent in thinking about your opponent. It looks sloppy.”
The loss to United brought an end to a sequence of three consecutive league victories for Liverpool, who occupy fourth place in the Premier League, seven points adrift of their rivals. Having claimed the title in Slot’s first season, they have endured difficulties this campaign and will conclude the month without silverware.
The confirmation that Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson will depart the club at the end of the season will further weaken the senior leadership group that Hutchison referenced, with Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker the only remaining long-serving regulars, though Alisson is also being linked with a move away.
Sunday’s defeat marked Liverpool’s 18th loss of the season across all competitions and Slot was left to reflect on another disappointing display.
“The margins are not so big on us being able to win a game like this, I know what we can improve on and we are already working hard on this,” he said.
“The same issues keep coming back which is not a huge surprise as you don’t have long to fix it during the season. Tactically you can change certain things but for me it is clear where we have to improve and we will.”
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