Peter Crouch slams 'defensively woeful' Liverpool and reveals huge Anfield problem causing Reds' struggles

Liverpool fell behind to an Ivan Perisic penalty in the sixth minute at Anfield on Wednesday night but were level 10 minutes later through Dominik Szoboszlai. However, Arne Slot's side failed to push on in front of their fans and fell behind again 11 minutes after the break as Guus Til restored the Dutch side's lead.

And a late brace from Couhaib Driouech compounded a miserable evening for Liverpool. The 4-1 defeat means Liverpool have now lost nine of their last 12 matches in all competitions, a woeful run of form that means Slot is under pressure to turn the club's fortunes around.

The Reds come into the weekend's game at West Ham 11 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, and their title defence lies in tatters. And former Liverpool and England striker Crouch has heavily criticised the club, describing the loss to PSV on Wednesday as "defensively woeful".

Peter Crouch was speaking exclusively to Paddy Power when asked what he made of the performance against PSV, to which he replied: "Defensively, woeful. It just didn't look like them at all. They weren't getting up to people, there was no tracking back. Salah is guilty of that, but I don't think there's anyone in a Liverpool shirt right now who can hold their hands up and say they've been playing well. A real frustration for all Liverpool fans.

"I saw Curtis Jones' interview saying it’s the hardest time of his career at the club. You can lose a couple of games, that's bad enough. But to lose to them in that manner, I remember playing PSV and they're a decent team, but Liverpool should be putting them away. These things can happen but it's happened too regularly and it's clear there is a deep-rooted problem there."

The defeat to the Dutch outfit means Liverpool now sit 13th in the league phase of the Champions League, albeit just a point off the top eight that was guarantee a place in the knockout stages of the competition. 

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Liverpool are not the only Premier League powerhouse that looks vulnerable this season. Manchester City, who would previously steamroll opponents, have looked less untouchable over the past 12 months, as the Cityzens now look to reclaim the Premier League title.

Crouch, though, believes that visitors at Anfield and the Etihad Stadium are quietly confident they will get something, whereas in the past that would have been unthinkable. "Teams are going to the Etihad and Anfield now and believe they'll get a result," Crouch added.

"In years gone previous, certainly under Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, it was a complete write-off. Even if you did get a result, you'd be expecting your goalkeeper to be keeping you in it, saving 25/30 odd shots, so there's definitely a loss of the fear factor and you can put some pressure on them."

City, like Liverpool, also lost in midweek as a much-changed side crashed to a 2-0 home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen. A 2-1 loss at Newcastle last weekend, meanwhile, means they head into Saturday's game against Leeds seven points behind league leaders Arsenal.

Crouch also praised Arsenal as the Gunners maintain their title push. The north London side sit top of the Premier League and Champions League following respective wins over Tottenham and Bayern Munich following the international break as they seek to secure their first league title in over 20 years, and the first major piece of European silverware in their history.

And when asked whether there is a limit to Arsenal's season, Crouch said: "There's no limit for Arsenal this season. I look at the other teams around them and I think they’re superior to them. The only thing that’s holding them back is the fact that they haven't done it.

"Under Arteta, they've won a cup, but they’ve not won a league and they've not won a Champions League, that's the only stumbling block. When it gets towards that crunch point in the season, the crowd get nervy, and so might the players. Until you overcome that, the question marks will always be there. But I believe they've got winners in their dressing room and they'll overcome it."

Arsenal face second-placed Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, and could end the weekend nine points clear at the top of the table should they beat the Blues and results elsewhere go their way.