Liverpool Has Become an Easy Touch, Says Ex-Captain as Reds Plunge to 98-Year Low

Liverpool has become an easy touch, said the club’s former captain and manager Graeme Souness. The statement came after the Reds lost 2-0 in a derby against Everton. Souness revealed he was disappointed with the Reds after Saturday’s game and said that they looked like they had no energy or "aggression about them".

"I think there’s no Liverpool player that can come off that pitch and think 'I’ve had a good game tonight'", said Souness, who now works as a pundit for Sky Sports.

The club’s former captain said Liverpool had gone from being a team feared by rivals, a team that no one wanted to play against, to a team that is easy prey.

"And now everyone wants to play against them. They’re an easy touch and that hurts me", Souness said.

After the loss to Everton, the club hit a 98-year-low – the last time Liverpool lost four consecutive home league games was back in 1923. The club has set another "record" by becoming the first reigning champion of the Premier League to lose four consecutive home league games since the 1928/29 season. Ironically, the club that defeated them (Everton) was the previous record holder.

After the game, midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum said the Reds need to deal with the ongoing predicament with finding a right mindset.

"You don’t want to feel sorry for yourself and don’t want to go into the victim role. You just want to deal with the situation and try to bring it to a better end, or a good end, even if you know that you have a lot of injuries. I think that’s how we should look at the situation, not be the victims but just try to turn it around. We have a lot of games to turn it around and if we’re going to look at the situation as victims it’s going to be worse", the midfielder said.

Defending the Title is no Longer a Priority

A week ago, the club’s manager Jurgen Klopp revealed that the Reds were out of the title race. Josep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, who are now on top of the table, disagreed and said the Reds are the same team that previously thrashed their rivals, only "less clinical". However, after Saturday’s loss Liverpool is lagging 16 points behind City, but they have a game in hand, so the gap may become even wider.

For now, it seems that Liverpool’s top priority is to get into the top four, which will guarantee the club a place in the Champions League.

Jurgen Klopp admitted that rebuilding the club’s mentality won’t happen overnight, but stressed that the current predicament is the "best problem" a manager can have.