Keane blasts two Liverpool players in Arsenal draw as he likens Klopp’s side to ‘a pub team’
Roy Keane claims Liverpool defended “like a pub team” in the first half against Arsenal in their 2-2 draw at Anfield in the Premier League on Sunday.
The Reds found themselves 2-0 down inside the first half an hour versus Mikel Arteta’s side with Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus doing the damage.
Liverpool hit back just before the break through Mo Salah before Roberto Firmino struck on 87 minutes to grab a share of the spoils for Jurgen Klopp’s men.
It was a much-improved second half for Liverpool with the Anfield crowd fully behind them but Keane was frustrated at Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson for their first-half defending.
Speaking about Arsenal’s second goal, Keane told Sky Sports: “Really poor defending. Liverpool not at it. No intensity. Jesus standing in the middle of the box.
“Van Dijk’s ball watching. There’s no pressure on the ball. Far too easy for Arsenal. I bet he can’t believe his luck.
“Robertson’s efforts to get back – you’ve got to do better than that. Liverpool’s defending is like a pub team. They’re all over the place. They are a mess.”
Liverpool have had a terrible season after coming so close to an unprecedented Quadruple last term with Klopp’s side currently sitting eighth in the Premier League table.
On Liverpool’s season to date, Keane added: “These players are letting that manager down, big style. To be eighth in the table, nowhere near good enough for a club like Liverpool.”
When discussing what has gone wrong for Liverpool this season, former Reds defender Jamie Carragher thinks Klopp has to take a large chunk of the blame, with something similar happening towards the end of his time at Borussia Dortmund.
Carragher said: “When you talk about the age [of the players], what you’ve got to remember is that it’s the intensity that they played with for five or six years. There’s almost like a shelf life if you’re in a Jurgen Klopp team. How long you can keep doing that and play in the way Liverpool play?
“Yes, they keep possession, but it’s not Manchester City where they’re strolling around with the ball.
“You almost have to question that style and the longevity of it. Something similar happened at Borussia Dortmund where after five or six years Borussia Dortmund actually found themselves bottom of the league in the first half of that season then got themselves back from that.”
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