Winless and an 'easy touch' - what's happened to the Anfield fear factor? — SkimNews
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- Liverpool lost 3-0 at home to Manchester City after Ryan Gravenberch's 62nd-minute red card, leaving them winless in three Premier League home matches this season and five successive top-flight Anfield games (D4 L1).
- Liverpool's Anfield home form has collapsed since the start of 2024, winning just four of 13 Premier League matches there and registering more away wins than home wins in that span.
- Manchester City arrived at Anfield with a 100% Premier League record and have scored 16 top-flight goals this season — over double Liverpool's total — exposing a gulf in attacking output.
- Three of Liverpool's key attackers — Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo, and Dominik Szoboszlai — were all out injured and had scored six of the club's seven league goals this season between them.
- Expensive summer signings Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola failed to produce a decisive moment; Wirtz shot wide at 0-0 in the 55th minute with two teammates in space to his left.
- Former defender Stephen Warnock told BBC Radio 5 Live that Liverpool 'aren't horrible' to play against and are 'an easy touch,' lacking enough on-field leaders beyond Virgil van Dijk.
- Ex-Man Utd midfielder Paul Scholes said the crowd intimidation that once defined Anfield 'feels like that's gone,' with visiting sides now looking 'more comfortable than they ever have.'
Why it matters: Anfield's away win rate of 12.5% is the lowest of any stadium in Premier League history, so any erosion of that home fortress directly undermines Liverpool's title credentials. With their three top scorers injured and £100m+ summer additions yet to deliver, Iraola faces a credibility test — Iraola himself acknowledged the team 'played two different games' once reduced to 10 men, conceding the second half was 'where City were better than us.'
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