Liverpool\u2019s poor run of form continued in their Carabao Cup defeat to Crystal Palace, deepening concerns over Arne Slot\u2019s current approach.<\/p>\n
The Dutch manager made his intentions clear from the start, rotating heavily by making 10 changes to the side that lost 3-2 to Brentford at the weekend. His starting lineup featured three teenagers \u2013 Rio Ngumoha, Kieran Morrison, and Trey Nyoni \u2013 while Palace opted for a strong XI as they aimed to reach the sixth round.<\/p>\n
The visitors took full advantage, with Ismaila Sarr scoring twice in the first half as Palace fans mocked Slot from the stands.<\/p>\n
Liverpool fans fume over Arne Slot\u2019s Milos Kerkez decision<\/p>\n
Liverpool suffered their fifth defeat in six matches on Wednesday night, and many supporters were quick to criticise Slot for one particular tactical choice involving Milos Kerkez.<\/p>\n
The Hungarian, who joined from Bournemouth in the summer, kept his place at left-back after scoring against Brentford but endured a difficult evening. He won just one ground duel and completed a single dribble across 90 minutes, prompting harsh reactions online.<\/p>\n
One fan wrote, \u201cKerkez is one of the worst footballers I\u2019ve ever seen haha,\u201d while another added, \u201cKerkez has been terrible at defending set pieces \u2013 every team is targeting him now.\u201d A third commented, \u201cKerkez is the worst signing we\u2019ve made in 20 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others suggested his struggles were partly due to Slot\u2019s tactical setup, which saw Kerkez used as an inverted full-back rather than overlapping on the left flank.<\/p>\n
One supporter posted, \u201cHow are we playing a back three and still have Kerkez inverting? Slot might have lost the plot.\u201d Another added, \u201cSlot can\u2019t get the best out of Kerkez \u2013 it\u2019s sad but true.\u201d<\/p>\n
A further comment read, \u201cSlot\u2019s obsession with inverting Kerkez in buildup play is baffling. He\u2019s clearly not suited for that role.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kerkez\u2019s performance vs Crystal Palace<\/p>\n
Slot mirrored Oliver Glasner\u2019s system by deploying a five-man defence, with Kerkez operating as a wing-back. However, the tactical tweak backfired as Palace\u2019s superior organisation and quality exposed Liverpool\u2019s experimental lineup.<\/p>\n
Kerkez had little attacking influence and struggled to impose himself defensively throughout the game.<\/p>\n
Milos Kerkez vs Crystal Palace \u2013 Key Stats:<\/p>\n
93 minutes played<\/p>\n
1\/3 ground duels won<\/p>\n
4 recoveries<\/p>\n
40\/53 passes completed (75%)<\/p>\n
2 key passes<\/p>\n
1 successful dribble<\/p>\n
Liverpool fans remain unconvinced by both Kerkez\u2019s form and Slot\u2019s system, with many believing the young defender is among several players yet to find their rhythm under the new manager.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Liverpool\u2019s poor run of form continued in their Carabao Cup defeat to Crystal Palace, deepening concerns over Arne Slot\u2019s current approach. The Dutch manager made his intentions clear from the start, rotating heavily by making 10 changes to the side that lost 3-2 to Brentford at the weekend. His starting lineup featured three teenagers \u2013 …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":53220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Saka-Arteta-1-1140x641-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=53219"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53221,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53219\/revisions\/53221"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}