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Steven Gerrard feels Liverpool's lack of squad depth came back to bite the Reds on Saturday, as it fell to a 10th Premier League defeat of the season.
Arne Slot's side was beaten 2-1 by Brighton courtesy of a Danny Welbeck brace, with Milos Kerkez netting the champions' only goal of the game. It means Liverpool has lost further ground in the race for the Champions League places and that outlook could look even bleaker with Chelsea and Aston Villa in action later this weekend.
The insipid display on the south coast is made even more frustrating given Liverpool produced such a convincing display in midweek, as it easily dispatched Galatasaray.
The inability to replicate that energetic performance was not helped by injuries to Alisson, Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitike, but the Reds lacked the level of steely determination that was on display at Anfield on Wednesday.
Gerrard said he feels this reflects badly on the squad's make-up, with Slot limited in the changes he can make.
"We’ve seen it quite a few times this season where they put in a lot of effort, perform well on the Champions League stage, all the emotion and energy you need to put into those games to get a result; it’s having a big impact on them on the weekend," the former Liverpool captain said on TNT Sports.
"They haven’t got the options on the bench or the squad to really make the changes to bring that energy and the quality into the team to the same level they did in midweek.
"They had to play a lot of the same players today. There were a few changes that were forced on the manager rather than he wanted to make and it backfired today."
The majority of Liverpool's players will now meet up with their respective international squads for the final pause of the 2025/26 club campaign.
Gerrard said it will feel like a long two weeks for Slot's squad.
"We have all been there where you have a bad defeat or are in bad form going into an international break. It just stings a bit longer," claimed the 45-year-old.
"The hurt and the frustration, you carry that for longer. You need to take the criticism on the chin.
"They were excellent in midweek. They got the praise and the pat on the back, but today they didn’t do enough to win this game."
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