Liverpool legend Graeme Souness blasts Reds for Leeds defeat
Former Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness has slammed his former club following their defeat to Leeds United. The Reds succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at Anfield, with Leeds youngster Crysencio Summerville scoring an 89th-minute winner.
Following the game, club legend Graeme Souness hit out at the Merseysiders and insisted that Leeds United bullied them.
The Scotsman insisted that Jurgen Klopp's side have looked like a shadow of their former self this campaign. As quoted by Sky Sports, he said on Saturday Night Football:
"Liverpool are a country mile from where they were over the last few years. In many instances, Leeds were more than a match for Liverpool and they did to Liverpool what they had been doing to teams for years.
"Liverpool basically bullied teams before, their midfield bullied teams. And now they're being bullied.
"That's making them vulnerable at the back, and they're not creating the same chances up front. Liverpool are a shadow [of the team they used to be]. Liverpool still had enough chances to win the game, but they are not like the Liverpool we've seen for the last five years.
"They don't play with the same intensity and just don't have it in their legs anymore.
"Leeds were a team playing under pressure. They didn't play like a young team tonight. They played like a team that really believed in what they were going to do, believed they were going to get a result."
Souness has insisted that the Reds' midfield is no longer good enough to challenge for silverware. He added:
"You can say it's a lucky first goal, but that mistake is not the reason Liverpool lost the game. If correct [Leeds ran 11km more than Liverpool], then to a man they ran a kilometre more than Liverpool. That's a big difference.
"And if you look at a midfield of Thiago, 31, Henderson, 31, Fabinho, 29, then after that you have Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain, Curtis Jones who is 21, and Harvey Elliot who's 19.
"If you go back to the start of the season, Jurgen [Klopp] must have looked at his midfield and thought: 'We're vulnerable here'. I feel their midfield is no longer a midfield that is going to get them back and win the big trophies."
Liverpool could struggle to qualify for Champions League next season
The Reds' season has gone from bad to worse, with the Reds having won just four out of their 12 Premier League games this campaign.
Jurgen Klopp's side currently find themselves ninth in the table with just 16 points and trail fourth-placed Newcastle United by eight points albeit with a game in hand.
Given how they have fared so far this campaign, there is still quite a long way to go for the Merseyside giants if they wish to play in the Champions League next season.
Klopp has also shared his concerns about his side potentially missing out on a top-four place. He said (as quoted by The Liverpool Echo):
“You cannot qualify for the Champions League if you play as inconsistent as we do at the moment. We have to fix that. Then we will see where we end up."