06/05/2026

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | MAY 6, 2026

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Liverpool’s troubled season ‘unacceptable’: Virgil

PREMIER LEAGUE TALKING POINTS

VIRGIL VAN DIJK admitted Liverpool’s troubled season has been “unacceptable” after a 3-2 defeat at Manchester United dented their push to qualify for the Champions League. The Reds’ loss against their bit ter rivals on Sunday left them in fourth place in the Premier League. Arne Slot’s side, crowned champions 12 months ago, have mounted a dismal title defence, forcing them to settle for fighting to reach next season’s Champions League. After their 18th defeat in all competitions this term, Liverpool still need four points from their remaining three games to seal a place in Europe’s elite club com petition via a top five finish.

season that will end without sil verware. And Van Dijk, who has won the Premier League and Champions League during his time at Anfield, is determined to ensure Liverpool don’t endure a repeat of their frus trating form next season. “Like anyone else, obviously, personally I want this to be solved. I want us to be what I’ve experienced over my time here. I want to be successful,” he said. “Consistency is the most diffi cult thing in any job, in anything you do, but it is the best way to get results and also be successful. That’s what we have to try and find. “We have to realise that next season we can’t repeat (this). It’s unacceptable.” – AFP

abroad before the United game. “I’m not sure it’s a holiday. It’s a city trip,” the Dutch defender said. “But I think if you have one day off, and you don’t have many days off, they decide what they want to do with their families. We are not kids. Everyone is an adult.” Put to him that some critics believes the team has too much time off, Van Dijk said: “Really? I wish we had a couple more days off at times because I think it works both ways. “You see Pep Guardiola giving (Manchester City) three days off, for example, the last weeks in a row and they are doing pretty well. It is finding the right bal ance.” Slot is under fire for failing to keep Liverpool in the title race in a

Slot was without star forwards Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak, as well as two goalkeepers, through injury against United. But Liverpool captain Van Dijk conceded fitness issues could not be used as an excuse for such a turbulent campaign. “I’m not here to make excuses. It’s been a very disappointing sea son, an unacceptable season for us, and it’s tough,” he said. “We shouldn’t feel sorry for ourselves whatsoever. We have to work, we have to turn this around and make sure that next season these things don’t happen because it’s not Liverpool.” Van Dijk hit back at criticism of Liverpool players’ use of their free time after several were pictured

Tottenham turn it round SPURS waited 118 days for a Premier League win in 2026 prior to last weekend’s scrappy 1-0 victory at Wolves. Roberto De Zerbi insisted all his side needed was to break that duck for confidence to flow back and they looked a completely different team in an impressive 2-1 win at Aston Villa. “In football it is very easy to change. If you lose, you are stupid. If you win, you are a champion. You have to find a balance,” said De Zerbi. “We have to remember in ourselves what we have done in the past.” Unai Emery’s team selection helped as Villa made seven changes with one eye on Friday’s Europa League semifinal against Nottingham Forest. But Tottenham took full advantage of that stroke of luck to edge one point ahead of West Ham and out of the relegation zone with three games to spare. The Hammers played their part as they crumbled to a 3-0 defeat at Brentford. Has Carrick earned Man Utd job? MICHAEL CARRICK has achieved the goal he was set when placed in charge at Old Trafford in January by returning the Red Devils to the Champions League. United cruised to a top-five finish with three games to spare after edging Liverpool 3-2 in a chaotic clash that exposed the weaknesses in both sides. On paper Carrick’s results are mightily impressive. A return of 10 wins from 14 games also includes statement wins over Arsenal, City and Chelsea. But the performances have often been less convinc ing, while United have had the massive advantage in the Premier League of having no European football to con tend with. Carrick has immense experience of life at United as a player, coach and now manager. The former midfielder said he feels like a “natural” in the demanding role. But his only other managerial experience came with second tier Middlesbrough, where he was sacked in 2025. Outgoing Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola and Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann have been linked as potential candidates, but Carrick has made himself the frontrunner. TOUCHLINES JUVENTUS have made Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson their top target for the summer. The 33-year-old Brazil international is entering the final year of his contract at Anfield. REAL MADRID have Aston Villa boss Unai Emery on the shortlist to be their new manager, but he is under contract with the Premier League side until summer 2029. MAN UNITED are interested in 21-year-old Portugal midfielder Mateus Fernandes, who is expected to leave West Ham if they are relegated from the Premier League. UNITED are also keen to sell Uruguay midfielder Manuel Ugarte, with the 25-year-old making just one league start since Michael Carrick was appointed as interim manager in January. BRENTFORD are pursuing Red Bull Salzburg’s 19 year-old Austrian defender Jannik Schuster, with talks ongoing over a deal worth about £16m (RM85m). INTER MILAN have automatically triggered a £13m (RM70m) clause to sign Man City’s Manuel Akanji after winning Serie A. The 30-year-old Switzerland defender joined the Italian side on loan last summer. LIVERPOOL and Arsenal are among a number of Premier League teams monitoring PSG and France forward Bradley Barcola, 23. CHELSEA are interested in Club Brugge’s 22-year-old Ecuador defender Joel Ordonez, who was previously linked with a £43m (RM230m) move to Liverpool in January.

Things must change Liverpool have gone backwards under Slot

FROM LEFT: Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz, Alexis Mac Allister, and Curtis Jones. – REUTERSPIC

Ű BY ARCHIE GRIGGS

Alexis Mac Allister has endured a turbu lent season and was nowhere to be seen in the engine room. Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro were given complete freedom to run the show and control the midfield bat tle throughout the game. Curtis Jones, who was similarly poor at right-back, could move back into midfield to replace the Argentine for the rest of the season. However, it wouldn’t exactly be a mas sive improvement and Liverpool would hardly suffer from dropping the 25-year old to the bench as well. Jeremie Frimpong, meanwhile, offered very little on the right wing and shouldn’t play there again. It’s an experiment that just isn’t working and he needs to either revert to his rightback role or be left out altogether. As we near the end of a hugely disap pointing season for Liverpool, several tough questions need answering and it’s clear that changes are needed on a number of fronts. Whether that results in Slot being replaced as manager remains to be seen, but it might be a good place to start. – Express Newspapers

Liverpool had barely got out of the dressing room before they were two goals down at Old Trafford. They simply didn’t turn up and United, who clearly wanted it more, ran them ragged. Things changed after the break when Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo fired the visitors level, but instead of keeping the pressure on and turning the screw, they wilted and United were able to snatch a dramatic victory. There is no chance that Liverpool would have allowed that to happen under Klopp. They would’ve kept battling and possi bly even found a winner themselves, but they are a different side these days. Jamie Carragher summed it up perfectly when he described his former club’s per formance as “soft and weak”, because that’s exactly what it was. It’s a damning indictment of how far the Reds have fallen under Slot, who is undo ing Klopp’s good work and might even pay with his job at the end of the season. He wasn’t the only one to blame for the defeat to United, with a number of Liverpool players falling flat under the weight of expectation.

I T’S ONLY been a couple of years since Liverpool were known as the Premier League’s “mentality monsters” under Jurgen Klopp. Never knowing when they were beaten, the Reds would fight until the bitter end and were feared by almost every side they went up against. However, in the present day, that couldn’t be further from the truth. It was always going to be difficult for Arne Slot to fill the void, even though the transition initially looked seamless. He got off to the perfect start by winning last season’s Premier League title, but it was essentially a Klopp side without any summer signings. Slot was allowed to spend more than any other top-flight club to mould the squad in his image ahead of his second season, but the Reds are now miles away from the world-beaters they once were. Perhaps the most worrying thing is the weak mentality that has crept into the squad over the course of the campaign. Their lack of bite was on full display against Manchester United as they rolled over for the Red Devils in the first half.