Liverpool beat Ipswich Town 0-2 in the away Premier League opener to start the exciting new era under Arne Slot. Slot broke the 50-year curse that plagued every new boss since the great Bob Paisley by winning the first game.
The Reds displayed a new tactical style of play that has excited the fanbase after severe scepticism over the recent transition. No club can recover from losing a legendary figure like Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool fans are particularly loyal towards managers.
Nevertheless, the fans and Liverpool players have responded well to Slot’s tactical approach while appreciating its practicality and effectiveness. The Reds are still a work in progress as the continuous run of games will determine the consistency under Slot.
However, there are many naysayers in the media who are trying to build a preconceived narrative despite the exciting start. One of those media personalities, Manchester United legend Gary Neville, is consistently making poor predictions.
Neville has once again downplayed Liverpool but this time he went further by putting them below Man United and Chelsea. Both Chelsea and United suffered badly last season and have continued to look poor despite United’s positive result against Fulham.
Nevertheless, Neville refused to put Liverpool in his predicted top-four finishers in the Premier League this season. The former United right-back also argued that United’s midfield is superior to Liverpool’s despite last season’s evidence that contradicts him. In fact, Neville contradicted himself immediately by also claiming that Liverpool’s starting eleven is much stronger than United’s in comparison.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville highlighted all the United players while claiming the rivals’ squad depth is better than Liverpool’s. He said:
“I really do question if that midfield [Liverpool midfield] is going to stand up throughout a season. If it does again, take my hat off to them, well done, proved me wrong. I think Manchester United have got more in midfield, more depth [than Liverpool]. They’ve got good players in there. Kobbie Mainoo’s coming into that now, alongside Casemiro. [Bruno] Fernandes is in there, Mason Mount is in there, [Scott] McTominay is in there. They’ve got more depth in there.”
Liverpool fans respected Neville’s start as a football pundit as he delivered critical analysis and more in-depth knowledge. However, after his embarrassingly failed tenure with Valencia, Neville’s quality in punditry has drastically fallen with more emotional bias.
The former England right-back usually teamed up with Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher and that friendly rivalry made many good moments. However, his constant bias has gone from being mildly funny to very unprofessional at this point with poor reasoning.
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United’s midfield was one of the most vulnerable areas in their squad last season and they have not added anyone. Furthermore, Liverpool’s historical rivals lost Sofyan Amrabat after his loan spell ended and did not replace him. Meanwhile, the Reds have a strong midfield with Alexis Mac Allister, Dominic Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones, Stefan Bajcetic and Wataru Endo.
The potential and now failed signing of Martin Zubimendi would have bolstered the Reds even further. At the moment, they want a number six who can solidify the team further as a luxury as they have both depth and quality in abundance.