Jamie Carragher has criticised a second Liverpool star for their part in Bryan Mbeumo\u2019s opening goal for Manchester United in their 2-1 victory over the Reds after taking aim at Virgil van Dijk on commentary.<\/p>\n
Mbeumo scored in the first minute at Anfield<\/a><\/strong> and Harry Maguire\u2019s late header scored all three points for the Red Devils after Cody Gakpo had pulled Arne Slot\u2019s side level.<\/p>\n Carragher labelled Van Dijk a \u201cbaby\u201d<\/a><\/strong> after an extraordinarily poor performance from the Liverpool captain<\/a><\/strong>, but picked out one of his teammates who was at least as much to blame for their terrible start to the game, though also hailed Ruben Amorim for nailing his tactics against the reigning Premier League champions.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Premier League winners and losers: Amorim, Slot, Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal and so many more<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Analysing the goal on Sky Sports\u2019 Monday Night Football, Carragher said: \u201cWhen you talk about teams playing direct football, having a low block as Arne Slot mentioned, it\u2019s always seen as a criticism. But Ruben Amorim got his tactics absolutely spot on in this game in Anfield. There\u2019s no doubt about that. That\u2019s the only way they could win the game.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to look at the goal here, initially in terms of the direct play. But it\u2019s not just about going long.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s remember who he actually picked. He didn\u2019t pick [Benjamin] Sesko, he picked [Matheus] Cunha to be underneath the ball.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd what\u2019s really important here, when we see this first challenge, is we\u2019ve got the back five of Manchester United, three centre-backs, two wing-backs, quite wide.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the really important thing to notice is how narrow these players are here underneath the ball. So it\u2019s not just go along, it\u2019s about picking up the second ball.<\/p>\n \u201cRuben Amorim got his tactics ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON in this game.\u201d \ud83e\udd1d<\/p>\n Jamie Carragher analyses how Man United were able to undo Liverpool early doors on Sunday \ud83d\udd0e pic.twitter.com\/IsHXZcweec<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cAnother really important point is nobody ever goes for the ball in behind in terms of a flick on or if Virgil Van Dyke misses it.<\/p>\n \u201cSo again, I mentioned Cunha being a little bit deeper than maybe a Sesko would be. So it was all about \u2018maybe we don\u2019t win the first ball, but we pick the second ball up\u2019 here.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd look how narrow the five Manchester United players are here, and that\u2019s where this goal comes from.<\/p>\n \u201cHarry Maguire wins it again, and because of the initial position of these players. Look how narrow Mason Mount is, Bruno Fernandes does really well.<\/p>\n MORE LIVERPOOL COVERAGE ON F365\u2026 \u201cNow we mentioned Virgil van Dyk, me and Gary [Neville] a lot on commentary, that he\u2019s got to get back quicker, and there\u2019s absolutely no doubt about that. But the guy alongside him, [Ibrahima] Konate, ever thought of the brilliant game, has got to do the same.<\/p>\n \u201cSo when [Amad] Diallo was on the ball, Konate is the closest man to get into where this ball is first of all, so he\u2019s 27 yards away. Then we look at where Virgil Van Dyke is, he\u2019s 30 yards away from that. And then you look at where Mbeumo is there, he\u2019s 31 yards away.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, what I would say is, if that was me in Virgil van Dyke or Konate\u2019s position, maybe he beats me to the ball. But these are two of the quickest centre-backs in the Premier League, and they\u2019ve got a start on him as well. And they just got to do more. They\u2019ve got to sprint back and get there before he does.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we see it from a different angle as well here, which probably just highlights a little bit more as well on Konate \u2013 could he get across in that position?\u201d<\/p>\n\n
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