Liverpool headed into their game against historic rivals Manchester United on Sunday in a relatively upbeat mood, with the Reds having won three in a row in the league and fans starting to convince themselves that just maybe this struggling side had finally begun to find their feet as we head into May.
A first half that saw them play terribly and end up a fully deserved two goals down served as a sharp reminder that this team is who we’ve thought they are all along—that in aggregate, results and performances
heading into the final month of the 2025-26 season look pretty much like they did in the first month.
“It’s a big disappointment because I think we concede two goals that we must not concede when we start the game,” centre half Ibrahima Konaté said in the aftermath, as the Reds clawed back in the second half to level the game only to then fall apart at the end and concede a late winner to United.
“The second half we came back with a great mentality and in moments we can hurt them but then we concede a goal and that’s why it’s very sad for us, because we didn’t start the game very well but the second half we started very well. It was a big opportunity to take three points and we didn’t get anything.”
This Liverpool side are not a bad squad. They deservedly coasted to the Premier League title last season on the strength of an outstanding autumn, but as the calendar ticked over to 2025 they took their foot off the gas and since then have failed to put a consistent run of performances and results together.
It’s a run that has now ticked up to 16 months, the better part of a year-and-a-half, with Liverpool’s press, passing, finishing, and defensive structure all regressing while the players now seem to struggle for fitness. The good news is that despite that, Champions League qualification appears safe.
The bad news is it’s been 16 months and any time this group does have a few good games, they immediately turn back into, well, the Liverpool side we’ve now watched for 16 months. They simply aren’t meeting expectations for a title winning side that spent £450M in the transfer market last summer.
“In the first half we lost many challenges,” Konaté added. “When it was 50/50, they won. But in the second half we just had to change it and change the mentality. This is what we have done and that’s why we scored two good goals with our pressing, with our aggressiveness, but we needed a little bit more.”
“When you are 2-0 down and you come back to 2-2, for sure you have the energy, the desire. After, we conceded the 3-2 so we have to work on it, we have to understand why we conceded this goal as well, and to keep going until the end of the season to be in a good position for the Champions League.”
