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It is now appropriate to start judging Alexander Isak justly as a £125m Anfield centre forward, the Liverpool head coach remarked on the weekend. As such, the assessment should be critical, but as the UK's most expensive footballer was seated alongside Mohamed Salah on the Reds bench while the English top-flight title holders tried in vain to secure an equaliser versus their rivals without them, it was not Slot’s misfiring forward line that warranted the harshest blame at Anfield. The team's backline structure has vanished.

Quiet Performance from Key Forwards

Yes, the Swedish striker was largely anonymous in the No 9 role and the Egyptian winger again poor as his difficulties continued against the club he typically scores against. The Swedish player had his first shot on target in the top division as a Reds player in the first half, excellently denied by United’s new goalkeeper the young keeper. Salah wasted a excellent after the break chance facing the Kop and neither protest when their numbers came up. Cody Gakpo also struck the crossbar on multiple occasions and somehow failed to net a another goal shortly after Harry Maguire’s decisive goal.

Unthinkable Defeat Despite Chances

It seemed impossible for Liverpool to lose a game in which they generated so many chances, the manager stated. But it is possible with a backline in current state, as one opponent, another rival and now United have demonstrated.

Backline Breakdown Under Scrutiny

As he presided over a fourth straight defeat as the club's head coach, the first person to do so after a previous manager in November 2014, the coach must have been frustrated at a defensive performance that invited United to dominate as well as their first victory at Anfield in nearly a decade. Littered with the repeated issues that the team's management had worked on solving after the international break, including another set-piece score, it was a performance that totally undermined the title holders' after halftime comeback and lost them the match.

Advantage Squandered Even with Improvement

Momentum was at last with the home side when Gakpo cancelled out the forward's quick opener. Liverpool could sense one more last-minute win with substitutes one attacker, Curtis Jones and another forward sparking progress and the opposition in defensive mode. Rather, it was another late Premier League loss, the third straight, after the team's dead-ball frailties re-emerged and Maguire found himself among several United players unmarked past Ibrahima Konaté in the closing stages.

Organized Rivals Outperform

A powerful goal into the goal that Maguire blazed over in the final moments of last season’s 2-2 draw gave Ruben Amorim the finest victory of his challenging United reign. For all the negativity around the coach it was his squad that played with definite plan and a smartly implemented approach for the majority of a compelling encounter. The initial consecutive Premier League wins of the manager's reign were the result. Slot’s team once more looked like strangers at times, particularly when allowing a set-piece score for the fifth occasion in the division the current campaign.

Quick Opener Exposes Defensive Issues

Liverpool were found wanting from the inception to the finish of the attacker's quick-fire first goal. There was no purchase on the initial attempt from the captain, a probable consequence of having to go through two players to reach the ball, admittedly, and little challenge on Bruno Fernandes when he took possession and passed to Amad Diallo in open area on the right. Milos Kerkez was slow to react, Van Dijk slow to track back and follow Mbeumo’s movement while Giorgi Mamardashvili, deputising for the unavailable first-choice keeper in net, was comfortably beaten from the position.

Refereeing and Focus Issues

Slot could justifiably point to his head and ask where the foul was from Michael Oliver, an official with whom he has a contentious past, but also doubt the concentration and coordination among his backline. The forward's goal indicates Slot’s team have managed only a couple of shutouts in a dozen games this season, the last coming many matches ago at another ground.

Repeated Exploitation of Defensive Side

The visitors exposed the left flank frequently in a first half in which Fernandes, Mason Mount and even the attacker all came close to increasing the away team's advantage. Sending Diallo early against Kerkez was clearly in Amorim’s strategy. It worked time and again in the opening half. The £40 million summer signing from Bournemouth endured a further difficult match in a Liverpool jersey. Set-pieces were even a issue for the previous player's chosen successor, who nearly sent the forward through while making one challenge. Kerkez and Van Dijk appear on not in sync at the moment.

Manager’s Explanation and Acknowledgment

“Our approach involves a lot of risks,” the head coach explained following United’s victory. “After the 62nd minute we had multiple attacking members on the field. This is maybe why our structure for the dead-ball was not as perfect as we usually are. Normally we would have more defending players on the pitch. Perhaps it is a coincidence but it is not an excuse. We know we have to do better.”