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Now is the moment to start judging Alexander Isak justly as a £125m Liverpool centre forward, the Liverpool head coach commented on Friday. Therefore, the assessment should be critical, but as Britain’s most expensive footballer sat next to Mohamed Salah on the Liverpool bench while the Premier League champions struggled to force an equaliser against their rivals without them, it was not the manager's misfiring forward line that earned the fiercest criticism at Anfield. His defence has evaporated.

Anonymous Display from Star Forwards

Yes, Isak was largely unnoticeable in the centre-forward role and the Egyptian winger disappointing again as his difficulties continued against the team he typically scores against. The Swedish international had his initial attempt on goal in the top division as a Liverpool player in the first half, excellently denied by the opposition's new shot-stopper Senne Lammens. Salah squandered a glorious second-half opportunity in front of the Kop and neither complain when their substitution came up. Cody Gakpo also hit the woodwork three times and somehow failed to net a another goal moments after the defender's decisive goal.

Unthinkable Defeat In Spite of Opportunities

It seemed unthinkable for the hosts to be defeated in a game in which they generated plenty of chances, the manager remarked. But it is not impossible with a defence in current state, as one opponent, Chelsea and now United have demonstrated.

Defensive Collapse During Scrutiny

As he presided over a fourth straight loss as the club's manager, the first person to do so after Brendan Rodgers in November 2014, the coach must have felt dismayed at a backline effort that allowed United to take the initiative as well as their initial win at Anfield since January 2016. Filled with the identical errors that the team's management had focused on solving following the international break, including another dead-ball goal, it was a display that completely derailed the champions’ second half comeback and cost them the game.

Advantage Lost Despite Uptick

Momentum was finally with the hosts when the substitute equalized the forward's quick breakthrough. The Merseyside club could sense another last-minute victory with substitutes Hugo Ekitiké, Curtis Jones and Federico Chiesa igniting progress and the opposition in defensive mode. Instead, it was another late Premier League loss, the third straight, after the team's dead-ball frailties resurfaced and the defender found himself among several United players unmarked behind the centre-back in the closing stages.

Purposeful Rivals Excel

A powerful header into the goal that the player blazed over in the dying seconds of last season’s 2-2 draw gave Ruben Amorim the finest win of his challenging club reign. For all the criticism around Amorim it was his squad that played with definite plan and a smartly implemented plan for the majority of a thrilling encounter. The initial consecutive league victories of the manager's reign were the outcome. The Liverpool team once more appeared like strangers at times, particularly when conceding a set-piece goal for the fifth time in the division this season.

Early Goal Reveals Defensive Flaws

Liverpool were lacking from the start to the execution of Mbeumo’s 62-second first goal. There was little impact on the initial header from Virgil van Dijk, a probable consequence of having to go through two players to connect with the pass, to be fair, and little challenge on Bruno Fernandes when he received the ball and released Amad Diallo in space on the right flank. Milos Kerkez was late to respond, the centre-back slow to recover and follow Mbeumo’s movement while Giorgi Mamardashvili, filling in for the unavailable Alisson in net, was comfortably beaten from the angle.

Refereeing and Concentration Questions

The manager could justifiably point to his head and wonder where the foul was from Michael Oliver, an referee with whom he has a contentious past, but also question the concentration and coordination levels his defenders. Mbeumo’s strike means Slot’s side have kept only two clean sheets in 12 matches so far, the most recent coming eight games ago at Burnley.

Repeated Targeting of Left Flank

The visitors exposed Liverpool’s left side frequently in a first half in which the midfielder, another player and even Gakpo all nearly scored to increasing the visitors’ advantage. Sending the winger quickly versus Kerkez was clearly part of Amorim’s strategy. It succeeded repeatedly in the opening 45 minutes. The £40m new arrival from his former club experienced a further difficult evening in a club shirt. Set-pieces were also a issue for the previous player's replacement, who nearly put Mbeumo through while attempting an challenge. The defender and Van Dijk appear on different wavelengths at present.

Manager’s Analysis and Admission

“We take a lot of gambles,” Slot explained after the opposition's win. “After the 62nd minute we had multiple offensive members on the field. This is maybe why our organization for the dead-ball was not as perfect as we usually are. Usually we would have more defensive players on the pitch. Maybe it is a fluke but it is not an excuse. The team understands we have to do better.”