Liverpool suffered a gutting 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as 18-year-old substitute Estevao Willian struck in stoppage time to seal the visitors’ misery, and former England right-back Gary Neville did not hold back in his post-match assessment.
Neville singled out left-back Milos Kerkez for criticism on Sky Sports, describing the young defender as “naïve” and saying he “looks like a baby out there.”
The comments have added fuel to the debate over Liverpool’s form and their defensive frailties after a run of results that has left supporters increasingly worried.
Chelsea’s dramatic victory, a 95th-minute winner following Moisés Caicedo’s early strike and Cody Gakpo’s second-half equaliser, handed the Blues three crucial points and left Liverpool reeling.
The late defeat continued a worrying sequence for the Reds, who have now lost consecutive matches across competitions and conceded late goals that have shifted momentum away from them. The result and the manner of defeat prompted strong reactions.
Gary Neville was critical of Milos Kerkez
Neville was particularly blunt about Kerkez’s performance.
‘The boy Kerkez, to be honest with you, at this point in time, he looks like a youth-team player,’ he said on The Gary Neville Podcast.
‘I know he’s a good player, but he looks like he’s playing for the youth team, or the Under-21s. He looks so naive; he looks like a baby out there. He’s losing 50-50s with Neto!
‘He’s had Premier League experience, it’s not like he’s come in from another country. He’s got a lot of games under his belt, he’s played at these grounds before, so I expected him to slot in.
‘One, he’s playing alongside Virgil Van Dijk, the best centre half in the world, so if you want to play in a back four, you want to play with great defenders and he is doing.
‘And he’s got players who work hard on that side, it’s not like he’s playing on the right with Salah in front of him, which is always a bit more difficult because you always get a little bit more exposed.
‘But I have to say from the first ten minutes of that game against Bournemouth on the first game of the season, he’s struggled.’
Liverpool defense has struggled this season
Neville’s harsh verdict on Kerkez will only amplify the scrutiny around Liverpool’s recent wobble.
While one performance should not define a player’s career, the combination of late defeats and shaky defensive displays means the margin for error is getting smaller for Arne Slot’s side.
Liverpool must find immediate solutions, whether through tactical tweaks, personnel changes or psychological reset, otherwise isolated errors and the kind of lapses Neville described risk becoming recurring themes rather than isolated incidents.
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