Graeme Souness has insisted Liverpool's midfield is no longer compatible and has left Jurgen Klopp's side open to being 'bullied' by teams as a result.
The Reds fell to a first Premier League defeat at Anfield with supporters present inside Anfield since April 2017 after Crysencio Summerville's late winner saw Leeds United collect a huge three points amid calls for manager Jesse Marsch to be sacked.
Leeds took the lead in the opening four minutes of the match after a defensive mix-up involving Alisson Becker and Joe Gomez enabled Rodrigo Moreno to fire into an open net, though Mohamed Salah pulled one goal back ten minutes later to lift hopes of a second-half turnaround.
PLAYER RATINGS: Fabinho dreadful again and six others really bad
AS IT HAPPENED: Liverpool vs Leeds goal updates and analysis
Instead, Klopp's men were left frustrated by their opponents as goalkeeper Illan Meslier produced a fine performance to keep the Reds at bay despite a flurry of late chances. This result means Liverpool have now slumped to back-to-back defeats against teams who found themselves in the relegation zone prior to kick-off.
Reflecting on the differences between the two teams at Anfield, Souness told Sky Sports: "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 and believed they were going to get a result.
"You can say it was a lucky first goal, but that’s not the reason Liverpool lost the game, Liverpool were a country mile from where they were in the last few years: they don’t play with the same intensity. I think, in many instances tonight, Leeds were more than a match for what Liverpool had been doing to teams for years. They basically bullied teams Liverpool, the midfield bullied teams. Now they’re being bullied in midfield, it’s making them vulnerable at the back and they’re not creating the same chances up front. Liverpool are a shadow."
Reacting to a reported statistic suggesting Leeds covered 11km more than the Liverpool players on the pitch, Souness responded: "If that’s correct, that means they ran 1km more than the Liverpool players. That cannot be possible. It tells you Liverpool had most of the ball and made them run around a lot more, but that’s a big difference.
"Liverpool still had enough chances to win the game. The goalkeeper got man of the match, that tells the story, but Liverpool aren’t like the Liverpool we’ve seen over the last five years - they don’t play with the same intensity, they just don't have it in the legs anymore.
"When you look at the midfield: Thiago 31, Henderson 31, Fabinho 29. After that you’ve got Keita 27, Oxlade-Chamberlain, who’s been out injured, 29, Curtis Jones who's 21 and Harvey Elliott who is 19. If you go back to the start of the season, Jurgen must’ve looked at his midfield and thought ‘we’re vulnerable here’ because with the age group, the chances are they’ll get muscle injuries. After that, you’ve got the two young boys.
"The Premier League is a hard league to play in and is a long, difficult, nine months for you. To expect two young lads to come in and take you through when senior players are injured is a big ask. Harvey Elliott has played in almost all the games. I’ve said this since the start of the season, I felt the midfield is no longer the midfield that can get them into the position where they’re going to win the big trophies."
He added: "They’ll look at that tonight and he [Klopp] will be thinking about the chances they had. If there was such a thing in football as fairness, Liverpool would win that because the goalkeeper made nine good saves.
"The bigger picture is this is a recurring theme no: they’ve played 12 games so far, in eight of those they’ve been outrun. I’m not a big one for stats as in black and white but if teams are suggestively working harder than you, covering more ground than you - that’s something you have to correct. I’ve said it since the start of the season, I was concerned about the midfield, the age, when you get the wrong side of 30 you get muscle injuries and you can’t have the same intensity.
"Liverpool’s midfield when they were successful with Salah, Mane, Firmino, I think the large part that was overlooked was the power and the influence that their midfield had. When I look and think would I like to have played against them, they’d have been difficult to play against. That’s the crux of the problem, they don’t play with the same intensity, the midfield is called the engine room for a reason - you give it to them quickly and accurately and if you’re always being aggressive, it’s protecting your back.
"Why all of a sudden is Trent Alexander-Arnold being criticised for his defending? I think it’s because people are getting time to pick their head up and pick passes over the back four which makes them more vulnerable. I was asked about Liverpool because they are my team and I said I’d like them to strengthen the midfield. They don’t play with the same intensity, don’t get to the ball first, they would bully Man City when at their best in recent history.
"They got bullied tonight, they were second to things tonight and in football you have to be first to the football. Get to the ball first and you’re doing that [going forward], if you get to the ball second you’re doing that [backing off] and Liverpool are doing too much of that [standing off], when for five years they were best at getting to the ball first and that’s the crux of the problem.
"I come back to it, Trent Alexander-Arnold isn’t the best defender. He’s the best going forward, but every year he should be getting better in his defensive work and, all of a sudden, we’re picking holes in them. Yeah, he’s making mistakes, he’s an honest lad and will hold his hands up, but I think it’s the guys in front of him who are not giving him protection because he’s asked to get forward as much as he is doing the stuff going back."
READ NEXT:
- Calvin Ramsay scores again as Liverpool under-21s win at West Ham
- Fans rave about 'ridiculous' Moises Caicedo after performance vs Chelsea and Liverpool links
- Kylian Mbappe picture clear for Liverpool after FSG investor predicts transfer 'arms race'
- Rhian Brewster 'close to tears' leaving the field after former Liverpool man substituted
- Liverpool fans left divided after Alisson and Joe Gomez mix-up results in Leeds goal
