Liverpool have lost seven of their last ten matches in all competitions after they were hammered 3-0 by Manchester City at The Etihad in the Premier League on Sunday.
The Premier League champions have now lost five of their 11 matches in the division so far this season, per Sofascore, after losing four of their 38 games in the 2024/25 campaign.
After the match, as shown in the clip above, former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane suggested that the Reds should not be considered in the race for the title, and it is hard to argue with.
The current run of form, their position in the league, and their performance against Manchester City do not suggest that they are likely to retain their crown in the 2025/26 campaign.
Liverpool’s current situation is particularly frustrating for the club when you consider the significant money that they splashed on new signings during the summer transfer window in a bid to strengthen their squad.
Attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz was signed from Bayer Leverkusen for a club-record, at the time, fee of £116m, yet he failed to make an impact once again.
Why Liverpool should be worried about Florian Wirtz
It is fair to expect that a £116m signing would be able to make a fairly immediate impact for the club, but he has been anonymous far too often in his Liverpool career so far.
The Germany international produced 16 goals and 14 assists in all competitions for Leverkusen in the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore, which led to the Reds splashing a gigantic fee on his services.
This shows that he has the technical ability to make an impact in the final third. That was further evidenced by his two assists against a Bundesliga team in Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League last month.
However, the physicality and intensity of the Premier League has proven a bit too much for Wirtz when it comes to making an impact with goals and assists at the top end of the pitch.
Per Sofascore, the 22-year-old attacking midfielder has no goals and no assists in 11 appearances in the division for Liverpool since his £116m transfer to Anfield in the summer.
Minutes
83
Pass accuracy
88%
Crosses completed
0/2
Key passes
0
Big chances created
0
Shots
2
Shots on target
0
Duels won
4/8
As you can see in the table above, Wirtz’s performance against Manchester City on Sunday lacked substance, with no shots on target, key passes, or ‘big chances’ created.
He was efficient in his passing and won half of his duels, to his credit, but his lack of physicality meant that he was unable to really threaten the Cityzens backline, marshalled brilliantly by Ruben Dias.
Liverpool should, therefore, be worried because his performances are not improving and his only goal contributions, outside of the Community Shield, came against a Bundesliga team.
Wirtz needs to adjust to the intensity of the English game, and quickly, to start proving why the Reds were right to spend so much money on his signature this year.
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The Germany international is not the only player whose performances are concerning, though, as central defender Ibrahima Konate put in another disappointing display.
Why Ibrahima Konate should be dropped by Liverpool
The French centre-back must be ruthlessly ditched from the starting line-up by Arne Slot when the team returns to action after the international break, because he put in a dismal showing against City.
For the opening goal from Erling Haaland, Konate was unable to time his jump correctly and allowed the Norwegian giant to beat him to the header, which landed in the back of the net.
That was followed up by some passive defending in the second half for the third goal. Jeremy Doku seemed destined to cut onto his right foot to shoot from distance, but Konate did not shape his body to react to the situation and allowed the shot to come in almost uncontested.
The France international, who was called “horrific” by Liverpool supporter Lawrie on X, was even worse than Wirtz against Pep Guardiola’s side, as he made costly errors for two of the three goals, whilst the German midfielder simply did not do much of note.
Whilst Wirtz, at least, won half of his duels in the game, Konate struggled with the physical challenge posed by Haaland, which is not a surprise given the Norway international’s presence and style of play.
Minutes
90
Tackles
0
Interceptions
0
Ground duels won
2/5
Aerial duels won
1/3
Dribbles
0
Shots
0
As you can see in the table above, the former RB Leipzig man lost the majority of his duels on the ground and in the air, which shows that he was far too easy to beat in duels throughout the match.
On top of that, the central defender did not step in to make a single tackle or interception, and did not attempt any dribbles to get his team up the pitch to bypass the first line of City’s press.
Passive was the word of the day for Liverpool and Konate, as evidenced by both the result and his individual statistics, which is why Slot may want to shake things up with some changes to his starting line-up after the break.
The France international could find himself out of the team when the Reds next play, with Joe Gomez waiting in the wings for his chance to start at the heart of the defence next to Virgil van Dijk.
Man City fans' brutal chant sums up Florian Wirtz's time at Liverpool
The German struggled, yet again, for the Reds against Manchester City.
ByJames O'Reilly Nov 9, 2025
Whilst it is now down to Slot to decide whether or not that is the right call to make, Konate’s performance on Sunday has given the manager a decision to make.