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Former Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has slammed midfielder Thiago Alcantara for his performance in Liverpool's defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers on February 4.
The Reds were beaten 3-0 by Wolves in their Premier League clash at the Molineux Stadium. It was another error-laden performance from Jurgen Klopp's side as Joel Matip's own goal opened the scoring in the fifth minute.
Some lackadaisical defending from the visitors then saw the hosts double their lead through new signing Craig Dawson in the 12th minute. While the Merseysiders improved in the second half, they were undone by another case of poor defending.
Wolves won the ball in midfield and sprayed it out to Adama Traore who ran towards the Liverpool goal and picked out Ruben Neves, who arrived late in the box and scored past Alisson.
Agbonlahor slammed Thiago for Wolves' third goal as the midfielder was seen just jogging around rather than making an attempt to mark Neves. The former striker told talkSPORT:
“Recently I’ve been watching Liverpool and they’re not playing like a group of players that are playing for the manager. You look today, Keita, Thiago strolling around. The third goal from Neves, Thiago just not even bothering to follow the runner. Their form is horrific."
Thiago has been one of the Liverpool players who has struggled to reach his peak this season. The Spaniard, known for his technical abilities and vision, has made 24 appearances across competitions, providing just one assist.
Jurgen Klopp on Liverpool's poor start against Wolves
The defeat against Wolves meant that Liverpool have now won just one out of their seven games across competitions in 2023.
Jurgen Klopp admitted that his side need to start the game much better than they did at Molineux and that this cannot continue. He said (via the Express):
"Again, I cannot explain. But these 15 minutes cannot be allowed. It needs to change. That's the thing. I stand here again and for the first 15 minutes I have no explanation, I'm sorry. In the end we lost 3-0 because the goal in the second half was perhaps the first time they crossed the halfway line."
He added:
"But it's right because when you start like this you don't deserve anything in a Premier League game."
The Reds are currently 10th in the Premier League table, 11 points behind fourth-placed Newcastle United.
