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Alan Shearer made a notable slip-up on the first episode of the revamped Match of the Day when he criticized Milos Kerkez for Bournemouth's opening goal — despite the defender not being on the pitch.
Liverpool secured a 4-2 win in their Premier League opener against the Cherries on Friday, but Antoine Semenyo shone for Bournemouth. The Ghanaian forward scored twice to bring the visitors level at 2-2 before Liverpool fought back to claim victory as the Reds began its title defense.
While analyzing Semenyo’s first goal, Shearer placed much of the blame on former Bournemouth defender, who joined the Reds earlier this summer despite Kerkez being substituted five minutes before the goal.
While breaking down the goal, Shearer told presenter Mark Chapman and fellow pundit Wayne Rooney: "There's Kerkez there, he's on the way to attack when they haven't even got possession, which means he's five or six yards out of position."
The MOTD graphic even highlighted Kerkez as the player at fault, when in reality it was his left-back replacement, Andy Robertson.
Shearer’s criticism of Kerkez didn’t go unnoticed, with viewers taking to social media to react to his misplaced blame. One X user said: "To sum up MOTD and Alan Shearer's analysis, he's talking about Kerkez being out of position on Semenyo for their first. Kerkez had been subbed before Bournemouth scored."
Another user added: "Shearer on motd slagging off Kerkez for the first goal for being too attacking even though he'd already been subbed. Brilliant stuff Al."
While a third person said: "Kerkez getting blamed by Shearer for a goal he wasn’t even on the pitch for. You can't make this up."
According to FotMob, Kerkez was the most accurate passer on the pitch (93%) among players who featured for 45 minutes or more on Friday night, but his tendency to go to ground did not go unnoticed by viewers.
His aggressive, front-foot style is a hallmark of his game, yet he lost six of the 10 duels against Semenyo.
After the match, Liverpool boss Arne Slot explained that he substituted Kerkez to prevent him from being sent off. “Milos Kerkez is a player that I think the fans like—because every duel he goes all in" said Slot.
"But when you have a yellow card already and you play [Antoine] Semenyo, that’s quite a worry.”
Liverpool’s defensive openness, however, has created more space for opponents to exploit, and Kerkez’s combative approach could leave Slot’s side even more overcommitted than they already are.
The Reds will need to figure out a solution before its meeting with Newcastle United.
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