Alan Shearer has tore into Liverpool’s defensive rock Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, claiming the pair were “absolutely bullied” by Danny Welbeck as Brighton condemned the champions to a miserable 2-1 defeat at the Amex Stadium.
Arne Slot’s side arrived on the south coast buzzing from a midweek Champions League stroll against Galatasaray. But any talk of building momentum was swiftly shredded inside 14 minutes, as Welbeck rose above Konate to plant a free header past Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Milos Kerkez’s stunning dinked finish levelled things before the break, but the Seagulls refused to be cowed. Welbeck struck again just after the hour and by the final whistle, Liverpool’s much vaunted centre half pairing had been given the runaround by a 35 year old frontman who, on this evidence, should be livid about being left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad.
Shearer, the Premier League’s all time record goalscorer, didn’t hold back on Match of the Day.
“I think Welbeck can count himself really unlucky that he’s not in the England squad,” the former Newcastle and Blackburn striker said. “Considering the form he’s in and the number of goals he’s scored… when you look at Dominic Solanke, Dominic Calvert Lewin, Solanke has three goals, Calvert Lewin has three in the last 12. I think he’s really unlucky not to be in that 35 man squad.”
But it was his dissection of Liverpool’s defensive horror show that will sting most in the Anfield dressing room.
“There were question marks about the opposition in Galatasaray, who I thought were really poor, but we were saying: let’s see what they’re like against better opposition,” Shearer said.
“Today, against Brighton, I thought they were outfought, they were by Brighton and I thought they were all over the place, Liverpool, particularly defensively.
“He absolutely bullied those two centre halves today, did Welbeck. Those two were all over the place.”
Breaking down the opening goal, Shearer was forensic in his criticism.
“It’s a terrible pass from the goalkeeper, an awful touch from the defender,” he said. “Watch Van Dijk’s reaction, he’s screaming at his players to get back and help them.
“Then the throw in comes, [Brighton] take a touch, no pressure on the ball, take another touch, and another, ping it in as you want, free header at the far post and he’s Welbeck is all over Konate. He bullies Konate, as I said, and he gets the goal with ease.”
Liverpool’s afternoon was disrupted early when Hugo Ekitike was forced off with an injury inside eight minutes and Shearer felt that chaos never really subsided.
“There’s no doubt that the situation with Hugo Ekitike upset them in terms of the rhythm and they had to change one or two bits,” he added.
“But there were three different right backs today, clearly that doesn’t help. I just thought there was no pressure in midfield, no real threat up front and, defensively, the spaces in between were glaring. It was so obvious what was missing.”
Wayne Rooney, alongside Shearer on the BBC sofa, echoed the praise for Welbeck and suggested the veteran forward had every right to feel snubbed by Tuchel.
“He’s been excellent this season and I think he’ll be slightly disappointed that he hasn’t been called up into the England squad with his form,” Rooney said of his former Manchester United and England teammate.
“He’s the highest goalscoring English player this season in the Premier League. I thought he was excellent against Liverpool. His work rate, his movement, everything about his game really caused Liverpool big problems.
“He’s 35 years of age but he’s showing no signs of slowing down. He’s there working for his team, which he’s always done as a player.”
For Liverpool, the defeat leaves them fifth in the table, with Champions League qualification suddenly looking less assured than it did a fortnight ago. Slot’s side have now lost three of their last five in the league.
And if Van Dijk and Konate usually the bedrock of this side are being bullied by a 35 year old playing without an England call up, there are bigger questions brewing on Merseyside than just one bad afternoon at the Amex.
