‘They lost control’ – McAteer claims worrying Liverpool trend has started to appear in title race

Ex-Liverpool star Jason McAteer has claimed that his former side has begun to show cracks in their performances in recent weeks despite overcoming Wolves.

Goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah held off  Vitor Pereira’s side who threatened the home side after Matheus Cunha’s brilliant effort in the second half.

Those vital three points were in doubt in the final part of the game as Liverpool scrambled to defend from Wolves’ relentless pressure but they held on to re-establish their seven-point lead over Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.

Since January 5, Arne Slot’s side have faced a tough schedule across multiple competitions with 13 games in 42 days, playing two games a week across the entirety of that spell.

Their fixture list isn’t set to let up until after their league game with Newcastle United at home on February 26, where they will have a 10-day break before playing again which will be a welcome intermission.

They toiled against Everton at Goodison Park and the home side managed to find another gear late on to score an unlikely equaliser Wolves pushed incredibly hard in the final part of yesterday’s game, forcing them to defend extremely deep until the final whistle.

Slot summed it up perfectly in his post-match press conference and his side will have to continue to come through difficult tests in the pursuit of glory this season. “They got better and better, we got worse and worse. We had to show a different mentality, which we did and got it over the line.

McAteer calls out key issue for Liverpool

Speaking to LFCTV pitchside after the final whistle, McAteer suggested that Liverpool’s second-half performances have begun to show one specific trend in recent weeks.

“Now, I understand that because a new manager comes in, he wants to implement his style and he’s going to play his best players, I get that, [but] he’s still new to the Premier League.

“In Jurgen Klopp’s first season, he got to January and the team just went because of the amount of work they went through in the first half of the season.

“I just think Liverpool looked tired at times, certainly in that second half,” McAteer added. “I thought it against Everton a little bit and I thought it again today.

“They lost control in midfield, they backed off, the crowd started turning a little bit, it all started getting a little nervous and Liverpool just couldn’t find that gear that they had in the first half of the season to compete.

“They get themselves back into it, Wolves, and I think the last 10 or 15 minutes they [Liverpool] struggled.”