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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Jake Polden

Graeme Souness identifies three worrying signs of decline at Liverpool

Graeme Souness has identified three areas of decline at Liverpool since the club won the Premier League.

The Reds recorded only their third defeat of the season when they were beaten 2-1 by Arsenal on Wednesday night.

Liverpool legend Souness was disappointed with the conduct of some of the players, and highlighted three examples of where individuals have 'switched off'.

Virgil van Dijk is usually a safe pair of hands, but the Dutchman was at fault for Arsenal's opener, while the usually reliable Fabinho kept giving the ball away.

Finally, Souness was unhappy to see Sadio Mane with a smile on his face while trailing Arsenal, accusing him and his team-mates of being in "armchairs".

Graeme Souness has identified three areas of decline at Liverpool (Sky Sports)

"It's not Liverpool, is it?" said Souness on Sky Sports. "You asked me before what we were going to get from Liverpool and I don't know.

"I'll come back to it; you can't explain why you just drop off the pace. You've never seen Virgil van Dijk make anything remotely like that mistake in two years, but they've won the league comfortably.

"They're waiting to get their hands on the trophy - but they're not at it. Fabinho, two or three times tonight, has given it away cheaply, which he doesn't do usually.

Virgil van Dijk is usually a safe pair of hands, but made a huge error on Wednesday (Andy Hooper NMC Pool)

"Mane has had a bit of a wrestle with [Rob] Holding a couple of times. Coming off, Mane's got a big smile on his face. In normal circumstances, Mane goes to war with you. He's not smiling at you.

"He can't wait until the second-half starts again to get at you. They're in their armchairs."

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