'Absolutely useless'- Liverpool stars Mohamed Salah, Florian Wirtz and Cody Gakpo savaged by Gary Neville after Chelsea defeat

Neville was talking from the gantry at Stamford Bridge on his customary post-broadcast podcast. He had just watched Liverpool fall to a chastening defeat, after it had appeared they would mount another late comeback in this nascent season.

Former Anfield target Moises Caicedo opened the scoring for the Blues in the first half. His piledriver from all of 30 yards gave Premier League debutant Giorgi Mamardashvili no chance in the visitors net. Gakpo levelled the scoring in the second half, as he latched onto an Alexander Isak flick on in the box to fire into the roof of Chelsea's net. Despite wresting back some momentum after the break, Liverpool wilted in the dying embers, allowing Brazilian wonderkid Estevao Willian to steal the show in injury time as he converted from close range to send the home fans into raptures. 

It certainly felt the game was there for Liverpool to win after the Dutchman's equaliser, especially as Chelsea had to contend with injuries to Benoit Badiashile and Josh Achemeapong, forcing Maresca into a makeshift centre-back pairing of Jorrel Hato and Reece James in for the final half-hour. Ultimately, the champions' wasteful play in the attacking third let them down, and seemingly frustrated Neville to boot.

Neville said: "Games are won by intent, teams that look like they want to win. I'm not saying Liverpool didn't, they obviously did, but I thought that after they scored I was really disappointed by the level of their performance. A lot has been made of Liverpool's defensive work, and rightly so, but today that's not why they've lost this game.

"They've lost this game because in the last 15-20 minutes, their creative players, their players in the final half of the pitch, the midfielders and the forwards who were absolutely useless. They were giving the ball away like you wouldn't believe. 

"Gakpo down here, Salah over on that far side; the wastage. Wirtz not knowing how to get into a game in the last 15 minutes when it was there for the taking, and just almost sort of marking Caicedo, I was watching him a lot." 

As with all major Premier League ties, GOAL cast their eye over the proceedings at Stamford Bridge. Our player ratings for the Reds backs up some of Neville's criticisms. 

The Egyptian King, so long Liverpool's talisman, was given the lowest rating, as our writer asked the question: has Salah's finishing ever been this bad? The reigning Premier League Player of the Year was given just 3/10 for his wasteful performance in front of goal. 

We were slightly more generous to Wirtz and Gakpo, giving each player a 6/10 and 8/10 respectively. However, we agreed with Neville that while the young German made an impact upon entering the game, he faded badly as the proceedings drew to a close.

The Reds probably feel they did enough in the attacking third to steal at least a point at Stamford Bridge. According to Opta Analyst's xG model, Liverpool created 1.74 xG to Chelsea's 0.88. 

The issue lied in Liverpool's inability to work Robert Sanchez in the host's goal. Of the their 12 shots, just two were on target. Conversely, Chelsea forced four saves out of Mamardashvili on top of Estevao and Caicedo's successful attempts.  

According to analytics wizz Statman Dave, Salah failed to win a single duel or complete a successful dribble. All three of his attempts failed to work the keeper. The Egyptian had the fewest touches (35) of any outfield player that completed the full 90 minutes. 

Most of the criticism for the Reds' relative struggles this term has been levied at their defensive unit. That's understandable, as Virgil van Dijk and co. have conceded 14 goals in all competitions this term. Until recently, they have been able to rely on the late heroics of their attacking stars to bail them out of tricky situations, however, they have now lost to two late winners in two consecutive Premier League games. 

Perhaps the international break has come at an opportune time for Arne Slot's side, as some time away allows for a mini reset on a season that started so promisingly. However, the disjointed attack still needs work, as Isak and Wirtz still need time to gel with their incumbent teammates. A marquee matchup against fierce rivals Manchester United awaits, as well as a potentially febrile atmosphere away to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League. How the Reds respond to this mini blip could well define their 2025-26 season.