Pundit warns the club must find answers to their physical and aerial weaknesses
Jamie Carragher has warned that Liverpool are in “crisis mode” after their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat.
The club’s former defender said the champions had lost both physical edge and authority so far this season.
Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Brentford deepened the club’s worst domestic run in nearly a decade and left them outside the top four for the first time this season.
It also means that only one team in Europe’s top five leagues are on a worse losing streak than Liverpool: St Pauli in the Bundesliga with five losses.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Carragher said the slump cannot be dismissed as a temporary dip.
“To see the champions lose four games in a row in the Premier League with the expenditure in the summer, I think we’re in crisis time for Liverpool right now,” said Carragher.
“Losing four games in a row for Brentford would be a disaster, for any promoted team. You can’t lose four on the bounce.”
Carragher, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, said the club’s summer spending has only increased the pressure to deliver.
“There will be a lot of serious questions asked in the dressing room, the manager and the coaching staff and also the people above the manager and the players,” Carragher said.
“When they’ve looked at what they’ve spent, the players they’ve gone out and got, they’ll be looking for a lot more.”
Liverpool were repeatedly exposed by Brentford’s direct play and struggled to deal with set pieces and long throws. They also showed the same weaknesses against Manchester United and statistics show that team are targeting that weakness: no Premier League club have faced more long balls from opponents this season than Liverpool.
Carragher said: “Liverpool have to look at the physicality and height within their team going forward because, right now, I don’t think they have enough of it.”
