Man City 3–0 Liverpool: Raw Reactions on Arne Slot, Selection and Standards

Liverpool went to Man City and left with nothing. On Anfield Index’s post-match RAW, Dave Hendrick and Karl Matchett told Trev Downey exactly why: effort, shape, reaction time — and a manager under the microscope. This piece uses only what they said, in their words, to capture the tone and the takeaways around Liverpool, Man City and Arne Slot.

Selection fine, setup not

Dave Hendrick had no gripe with rolling the same team, but the approach? Different story. “Yeah… the team was the correct selection… the issue was how they were set up to play.” He added, “Arne sat on the sideline looking completely lost… made no urgent tactical changes. His substitutions were odd… two wins in the last two games or not. It’s seven defeats in 10 and we are at the point where very serious conversations need to take place.”

Karl Matchett, who was “fine with the 11 that was picked,” zeroed in on the passivity and the lack of early intervention: “We didn’t appear to try anything, not to do anything anyway… the passive nature of our performance… and the lack of reaction time.” This, he said, was “Halftime is when you start to fix things because you haven’t to begin with.”

Game plan undone

Hendrick was frank about Pep Guardiola’s approach: “Pep Guardiola kept things simple today and targeted the weaknesses in our team.” He felt Liverpool were “out played… outfought… out muscled… the manager’s been completely outtacticked today.” City’s first two goals? “Both of their first goals could very easily be tagged as flukes,” yet that didn’t change the overall picture: “We absolutely deserve to get spanked… the entire team to a man was poor.”

Matchett broadened it. Liverpool’s off-ball work wasn’t there: “We were so slow… so reactive to absolutely everything… there was nothing which was copied from one win into the next game.” On the defensive approach he’d expected, he noted, “We did not do that first bit today at all… it was immediately into a really really deep block set and we had no way of getting out or else no intent of getting out.”

Key moments and non-moments

On Man City’s opener, Hendrick called it what it was: “It is a bit of a fluke… Ibu has to do better… he barely got off the ground.” On the second, he lamented the standing-off: “They just picked their way through us… easy as you like.” The third? Matchett tipped his hat to the strike but highlighted the structural failure: “Absolutely spectacular, but again, no energy to get to the ball… the first thing… a second defender goes on the inside… but there’s nobody.”

For Liverpool’s disallowed equaliser, Matchett was unequivocal: “It was a perfectly good goal… he’s nowhere near the keeper… he’s just there.” Hendrick went even harder: “It’s the worst offside call I have seen… he’s not interfering… he gets out of the way.”

Midfield, pressing and purpose

Hendrick described City’s press trigger and Liverpool’s unhelpful response: “It became very clear… let either Ibu or Gravenberch have the ball… we were struggling to build up and Ara’s solution was to drop Gravenber back in next to Ibu… mindless stuff.” On the right-back battle: “Bradley got that rinsing tonight and Ara did nothing to help him out… absolutely pathetic management.”

Matchett’s verdict on collective intensity was withering: “We were not closing down quickly enough… not in challenges hard enough… there was very little replicated… from one win into the next game.” The attacking production told its own story: “It was also our only shot on target of the day. One shot on target, friend. One shot on target.”

Where this leaves Arne Slot

Hendrick didn’t sugar-coat Liverpool’s trendline: “There’s no progress at all… five defeats out of six in the Premier League is unacceptable for this club.” On what happens next if things don’t change after the break: “If he comes out of the international break and we are still struggling, you’re going to have to look at change. They’re going to have to look at change.”

Matchett framed the fixtures to come as the real test: “It’s the more direct teams… that’s when we’re going to see what Liverpool’s plan… is worth.” Put bluntly, this wasn’t about one glamorous European night; it’s about week-on-week identity.

Bottom line

Hendrick summed up the Etihad verdict in one blunt swing: “We absolutely deserve to get spanked.” Matchett’s data point was the exclamation mark: “One shot on target.” Between those two lines sits the whole picture: Man City were sharper, simpler, and more decisive; Liverpool were passive, slow to react, and unclear — and that leaves Arne Slot with questions only performances can answer.