McManaman doesn’t hold back with verdict- but was it that bad?

Liverpool legend Steve McManaman hasn’t held back in his verdict as the Reds lost to Napoli in the Champions League.

The Reds lost thanks to a last ditch effort from Italian Lorenzo Insigne, a goal that condemned Jurgen Klopp’s men to their first group stage defeat in the competition under the German.

Liverpool also hit new lows during the course of the game as they failed to register a single shot on target – the first time that has happened since 2012.

And now McManaman has piled into the side and heavily criticised their performance in Naples, but was it that bad? Watch the video at the bottom of this piece to hear what he said, and make sure you leave a comment to get some friendly debate started.

Well, okay, yes it probably was. Naby Keita left the field with an early first half injury, Jordan Henderson replaced him and the Reds lost that powerful presence in the middle.

Mohamed Salah was a poor game again, but the rest of the front three didn’t have an amazing one either and chances were few and far between.

Every team are allowed to have an off day, but it looks like the heavy run of fixtures has finally got to the team. Klopp has rotated minimally, except for the Carabao Cup loss to Chelsea, and so it’s natural that some players will be feeling the strain.

This defeat may give him cause to look over the starting line up for Manchester City on the weekend. If the Keita injury is serious that means Henderson will start, but Xherdan Shaqiri and maybe even Daniel Sturrridge will now be pushing hard for inclusion.

At least the defence looked good, with Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez once again making Liverpool fans froth about the prospect of them playing together for the next five years.