Jamie Carrager says Liverpool will “not win the league” if Arne Slot doesn’t “solve” the issues exposed on Friday night.
The Premier League champions kicked off the 2025/26 season, winning the Andoniira Ola side 4-2.
Summer Signature Hugo Ekitike scored with an incredible Premier League debut before Cody Gakpo was quarter-minute into the second half.
Liverpool seemed to be open all games at the back and they were ultimately paid when Antoine Semenyo finished a quick counter attack in which he exposed an alternative Wataru ending with the right back.
Twelve minutes after halving the deficit, Semeño again punished the Reds during the transition, digging into the bottom corner with a nice left foot shot.
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Bournemouth may have gone to win the game, but Federico Chiesa’s first Premier League goal in the 88th minute helped him get all of Liverpool.
Liverpool’s gung-Ho approach surprised Karager, the club’s former defender. For his criticism for Sky Sports, the 47-year-old condemned the Reds’ “absolutely shocking” approach to the game when they were 2-1.
“It’s incredible,” Karager said in Friday night football after the game. “It’s great from Semeño, but Liverpool has this problem.
“When we won 2-1, how many players were ahead of the ball in front of the eight players? That can’t happen. It’s absolutely shocking at this level.
“It’s incredible that Semeño runs that far and takes a shot. But where is Conate going? He had a really, really poor night at centre-back tonight.”
Carragher emphasizes how easy it is for Bournemouth to get through the side of the slot and is confident that the Dutch head coach must change his approach.
“That’s not true. It’s not,” he added.
“It’s the only game on the Community Shield, but I’ve seen enough football in my life. The idea that everyone is moving forward is not for me.
“Last week, at Community Shield, we rarely felt Liverpool had control of the game, and we can draw 2-2 at Palace.
“In the first half, Bournemouth should have been at least 2-0 in one stage.”
Liverpool has taken on the back with teenage defender Giovanni Leoni signed with depth, while Crystal Palace’s Mark Guech continues to be a transfer target.
It was a difficult night for Ibrahima Konate, next to Virgil Van Dijk and Carragher, to describe the former as “absolutely shocking” during the commentary, but I’m not sure that personnel matters when Slot’s tactics make the two centre-backs very exposed and isolated.
“There’s no doubt that Arne Slot has to solve,” Carragher says.
“People say they need a centre-back, and the centre-back won’t fix that. He just takes the place of Conate.
“It has a team structure that attacks two fullbacks and a No. 10 that is more interested in riding the ball than defending like last season’s Szoboszlai.
“If Liverpool continues like that, I don’t think they’ll win the league.”
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