3 days ago
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Milos Kerkez has been thrust into the limelight following Liverpool's Community Shield defeat to Crystal Palace, where the Reds twice let a lead slip and ultimately lost on penalties at Wembley after a 2-2 draw with the FA Cup winner.
Despite the disappointment, there were bright spots for Liverpool, including goals from newcomers Hugo Ekitike and Jeremie Frimpong, as well as a sterling display from Florian Wirtz. However, Arne Slot's backline appeared shaky, with Virgil van Dijk conceding a penalty that Jean-Philippe Mateta slotted home, and Ismaila Sarr exploiting ample space to get past Alisson.
Van Dijk's foul on Sarr followed an Alisson save from a one-on-one with Mateta, who had broken free from the defence. Questions were raised about the equilibrium of the revamped defence, especially with Kerkez at left-back and Frimpong on the right, by none other than Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher.
Carragher remarked during the half-time analysis on X: "LFC looking great going forward but susceptible defensively, as we've seen all pre-season.
"A lot of the goals conceded by LFC have come from going man to man really aggressively and leaving space in behind. Today Kerkez is getting dragged inside with Sarr leaving Gakpo chasing WB."
Ex-Liverpool winger Steve McManaman also singled out Kerkez for criticism. He commented on TNT Sports regarding Palace's opening goal: "It was Kerkez playing everybody onside. Everybody stepped forward and the left-back was stepping backwards.
"That gave Palace the opportunity – and Palace were exploiting it a lot of the time. They were putting balls into that area, especially in the second half, almost doing it blind."
Kerkez, who was snapped up from Bournemouth during the summer, got the nod over Andy Robertson at left-back.
Despite pulling off a key block after the break, his forward-thinking approach often left gaps for Daniel Munoz and Sarr to exploit, and McManaman reckons Slot has his work cut out.
"I think the two goals today – not taking anything away from Crystal Palace – but if we're talking about Liverpool's defensive issues, they were defensive mistakes," he added.
"There are things to work on and they will get better the more they get used to playing with each other as they are new players in a new system. But there are causes for concern because they are a bit vulnerable defensively."
Post-match, Slot voiced his worries about his backline. "We conceded two goals [today], which we [also] did against [Athletic Bilbao in pre-season]," he confessed to TNT Sports.
"We conceded a couple more against AC Milan. That is something we need to do better.
"Last season, it was about keeping a clean sheet and attack as much as we could, and then create a few chances. Now we are able to create more.
"But we are conceding more at the moment as well. And if you want to compete to win the league, one of the main things is not conceding chances, let alone goals. I don't think we conceded a lot today but too much to win the game."
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