Merson rages at ‘terrible’ Liverpool star in 1-1 v Forest, teammate ‘phenomenal’
Paul Merson was left raging with “terrible” Liverpool attacker Luis Diaz as he failed to release the ball early enough for Liverpool to get themselves a goal against Nottingham Forest.
The Reds were on the counter-attack after a glorious 60-yard ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold made its way to the feet of the Colombia international.
However, instead of putting the ball in the path of Cody Gakpo who had a clear chance at the net, Diaz kept the ball at his feet and ended up being tackled by Murillo.
Speaking live on Sky Sports News (14 December, 20:37pm), Merson shared his thoughts on the Reds’ chance.
“It was a terrible bit of play by Liverpool, they’re on the attack Forest and the ball falls to Trent Alexander and he hits a 60-yard ball like you can’t catch your breath and he finds [Luiz] Diaz one-on-one with Murillo,” Merson said.
“There’s only them two, he’s running it and running it, Gakpo makes a run around him, he’s just got to put Gakpo in, he takes his time and all of a sudden he goes to play it and Murillo sticks his foot out, it’s a terrible decision.
“But Trent-Alexander’s ball [was] phenomenal and then he’s just played another one, it was out of this world.”
Arne Slot needs to get Liverpool back to their best
Liverpool have been one of the best teams in the top flight this term with the Reds having a comfortable six-point gap between themselves and second-placed Forest.
Granted, before 2025 hit the Reds seemed to be a bit better on the ball and even though they’ve only won two out of their last five games across all competitions, they’re still a force to be reckoned with.
One of the main issues at Anfield this season has been the lack of clarity over the future of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.
Each of the trio’s contracts expire at the end of the 2024/25 season and while it’s likely that one or two of them will extend their stay, it’s hard to see all three staying on.
At the moment, it’s anyone’s guess who could stay or leave but at the moment, it feels like those questions are hindering the progress of the club.
Only time will tell what the future holds but for now, Slot just needs to focus on earning three points from every game once again.
In other Liverpool news, Paul Merson has called out Mohamed Salah for what he did against Nottingham Forest.
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