Man United Legend Tears Into 'Useless' Liverpool Attack in Loss to Chelsea

Gary Neville has heavily criticised Liverpool's attack and midfield following a 2-1 loss at Chelsea, which marked the Premier League champions' third consecutive defeat under manager Arne Slot.

After Moises Caicedo opened the scoring with a thunderous first-half strike, Liverpool managed to level the match in the second half through Cody Gakpo. However, a stoppage-time goal from substitute Estevao secured the victory for the home side.

Neville expressed his disappointment with Liverpool's performance, particularly their inability to capitalise on Chelsea's defensive injury woes, which saw both Josh Acheampong and Benoit Badiashile forced off.

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"I thought after they scored, I was really disappointed in their level of performance," Neville said on the Gary Neville Podcast.

"A lot has been made of Liverpool's defensive work and rightly so, but that's not why they've lost this game. They've lost this game because in the last 15-20 minutes, their creative players, their players in the final half of the pitch, the midfield players and the forwards were absolutely useless."

The former Manchester United captain singled out several players for their poor decision-making and wastefulness in the final third.

"They were giving the ball away like you wouldn't believe. Gakpo, Salah, the wastage. Wirtz, not knowing how to get into a game in the last 15 minutes when it was there for the taking and just sort of ended up almost marking Caicedo," he explained.

"I thought their front players were terrible. Salah is sublime. How can you criticise the consistency and reliability and brilliance of him, but some of the decisions of him today, when he comes inside and you think he should pass it or you think he should do something better with it, and his finishing was poor."

Neville also commented on the performances of Alexander Isak and new signing Florian Wirtz.

"Isak, I thought he'd started the game sharp but didn't quite get into it," he noted. "Wirtz, when he came on, I was disappointed with him. He looks very immature in his knowledge of how to play the game."

"I just see him sort of jogging around, and I see him going too deep when he shouldn't go too deep... He's quite predictable at this moment in time in terms of picking up his position and he was disappointing."

Neville concluded that Liverpool's late-game collapse was particularly concerning. "That's the most disappointing last 15 minutes I've seen from Liverpool in a long time because I think when Chelsea have that back four in play, you've scored a goal so you've got to go on and win that game. Everything said Liverpool should go and win that game but they've not done it and that's a problem for them."

Despite the poor result, Neville believes the title race is far from over. "We've got a title race on. Arsenal have had a great week, Liverpool have had a poor week and I think it makes for a great next six months because it's going to be a real battle."

"For Liverpool they've got some work to do but they've got experienced players, they've got world-class players and individuals in their team and they've got a great manager. They'll sort it out but the full-backs have to step up, Wirtz has to start playing and understanding how he's going to sort of connect with Isak and the other forwards in the team."

Neville's criticism also extended to Liverpool's defence, highlighting issues in the full-back positions.

"[Milos] Kerkez looks like a youth team player," Neville told Sky Sports. "I know he's a good player but he looks like he's playing for the U21s. He looks so naïve; he looks like a baby out there."

"I have to say from the first 10 minutes of that game against Bournemouth on the first day of the season on that Friday night, he struggled," he added.

"Let's be clear, Liverpool's full-backs are struggling. Frimpong looks like he should be playing as a right winger—he doesn't perform like a right-back. Conor Bradley isn't doing it, and Andy Robertson, I think he's battling but he's not quite where he was a few years ago. Liverpool's problems I think at this moment in time are as much to do with full-back as anywhere. They need to button that down."

Liverpool manager Arne Slot believes the significant changes his squad underwent during the summer have affected their start to the season.

"I think you're never close to your ideal team," Slot said after the game. "You have to work really hard to reach a certain level, and then it's very hard in football to maintain that level because you also play against very good teams. What I mean by that is consistency."

"But it's clear that we had a lot of changes in the summer. Players came in at different moments. Last week, there was hardly any training time, and we still need to try to integrate these players."

"The result would have been better today with a draw or a win, which were both possible. I don't say we deserved it, but we definitely deserved a draw. Then we would have had a great start to the season, considering everything that happened at Liverpool over the summer."

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp suggested that Liverpool have lost their balance in the search for a winning formula following their summer transfer business.

"Those last-second goals end up running out; you run out of luck, and then you get caught on the other side. It's become a difficult situation," he said.

"When I watched Liverpool last season, the one thing I always felt was that they had control. They had a lovely balance about them, a steady back four, and then Ryan Gravenberch in front."

"Now the manager wants him to have a slightly different role, which is fine, but you can't change too much about what was so successful. They are losing control in important matches. They are too open all the time. It's been end-to-end, which is not what Liverpool were last year."

"Last year, from Arne Slot, it was one of the most incredible managerial performances. To a certain extent, it all made sense; they didn't really buy any players."

"This year he's got different players and he's trying to fit things together quickly. Things haven't quite gelled in the way he would have liked. Alexander Isak will need time, Hugo Ekitike will need time. I thought it would all slot together perfectly, but it hasn't."

Redknapp also believes Liverpool are feeling the impact of Trent Alexander-Arnold's departure to Real Madrid on a free transfer over the summer.

"They've got problems at full-back. They're missing Trent Alexander-Arnold," he added.

"They haven't played the same right-back since the Burnley game. Conor Bradley had a tough 45 minutes. Milos Kerkez hasn't quite adapted either—the pressure of playing for Bournemouth isn't the same."

"They have problems all over the pitch, but especially at full-back with Andy Robertson's injury at the end. This international break could be a good chance to reset."