Jamie Carragher points finger at Liverpool players ‘not understanding the situation’ vs Chelsea

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has criticised the Reds for their game management in recent weeks and even questioned one controversial decision from manager Arne Slot

Jamie Carragher has once again slammed Liverpool’s game management and suggested that Arne Slot made the wrong call to bring on Wataru Endo during Saturday’s last-gasp 2-1 defeat at Chelsea.

Carragher has been outspoken about Liverpool’s all-out attacking style at the beginning of this campaign and even highlighted it when Bournemouth visited Anfield and netted twice on the opening weekend of the season.

At the time, Carragher was astonished by how much room Antoine Semenyo was given in the lead-up to his second strike, charging almost the entire length of the field before finding the net, describing the defending as “shocking”.

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Despite Liverpool going on to claim victory in each of their opening six fixtures across all competitions, those displays haven’t impressed and results have tailed off since, with the Reds losing their last three encounters.

They travelled to Crystal Palace and endured a stoppage-time 2-1 reverse, before heading to Galatasaray in the Champions League and falling 1-0. They then made the trip to Chelsea and were defeated 2-1 in a closely-fought contest.

Discussing Liverpool’s rough patch on The Overlap’s Fan Debate, Carragher pinpointed what has irritated him the most in recent fixtures and identified one scenario – the choice to substitute on Wataru Endo against Chelsea – which resulted in the Reds shipping a 95th minute winner at Stamford Bridge.

Carragher said: “The thing that has frustrated me in the last two games is that we have allowed a situation [to finish] end-to-end. Sometimes when you are playing a game, ‘Liverpool are playing Crystal Palace and Liverpool are better than Crystal Palace and are the favourites to win the game’.

“But you have been battered in the first-half, it’s 1-1, they’re on an unbelievable run, I am like ‘get out of there with a point’. Slightly different with Chelsea because when it went 1-1 I think a title-winning team go and win that game especially with the problems Chelsea have. But Liverpool were never in control of the game I felt after it went 1-1. You’d expect them to win the game, but they were never in control.

“Even when he brought Endo on, it’s telling you to take a point, but it didn’t feel like anybody went back to defend, people were running end-to-end. That is the thing that is frustrating me.

“A team that is the champions and got such experience, senior players and what they have won, not understanding that situation, especially the Crystal Palace game when you’ve played that badly. Liverpool would be top of the league with them two points. Losing games can happen but it’s the manner of it two weeks running.”

Slot, meanwhile, faced questions about his decision to introduce Endo during his post-match press conference – a substitution he stood by.

The Japan international replaced Alexis Mac Allister in the 86th minute. “If you look at the substitution we made, we brought Endo [on] who we normally bring in if we think we need a bit more control,” Slot explained to beIN Sports.

“The last 10-15 minutes were so open and we were still able maybe to create but definitely needed the control because we were already with Ryan Gravenberch playing as a centre-back. I don’t think that substitution was too defensive, the rest was because we were 1-0 down and tried to win but making offensive substitutions.”

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