Dominik Szoboszlai called on Liverpool to “wake up” and warned they could be playing in the Conference League and not the Champions League next season unless they fix their performances in the Premier League.
Last season’s champions were held to a 1-1 draw by struggling Tottenham and conceded another late goal in the Premier League as Richarlison struck in the 90th minute at Anfield.
It was the eighth time in the league this season that Liverpool had conceded after the 90th minute as Arne Slot’s side blew the chance to go fourth after defeats for Aston Villa and Chelsea.
Szoboszlai, who had given Liverpool a first-half lead with a direct free kick, struggled to explain the pattern of conceding late goals. The former defender Jamie Carragher had said on Sky Sports before Richarlison’s equaliser that Liverpool were “sleepwalking” towards more dropped points.
And Szoboszlai told Sky Sports: “We have to wake up. If we keep going like this, next season we should be happy if we play Conference League.
“In the first half, we played very well. We controlled the whole game, they hardly created many chances. Second half, I don’t know, we just don’t do the same things like in the first half.
“The question is why? We will sit down together. This is the most difficult time. We have to stick together.”
Tottenham had arrived at Anfield missing 12 senior players and on the worst run of form in the Premier League, with four consecutive defeats under Igor Tudor.
But they were fully deserving of their first point under Tudor and the manner of Liverpool’s performance resulted in a smattering of boos at Anfield at full-time.
“I didn’t hear the boos but I can understand because last season we became champions and this season we are not performing in the way that we should be,” Szoboszlai said.
“They should stay behind us because last season when we were champions four games before the end, everybody was happy. Support us now when we’re in difficult times.”
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane warned there are “big problems” at Liverpool and “something missing” in last season’s champions. Carragher called Liverpool’s display “awful”.
“No disrespect to Tottenham but they are the worst team in the Premier League now, probably for the last couple of months,” he said. “They are exactly who you want to play, playing at home, the incentive of your results this weekend and to put in performance like that. But it’s been like that all season.
“And the big question on everybody’s lips is that down to the manager or the makeup of the squad? Could a new manager completely revitalise these type of players and bring that energy and sort of intensity back into this team? I’m not sure.
“I think a lot of it goes back to what happened in the summer, the profile of the players that came in and there’s just too many players who just want to play when the ball’s at their feet. They don’t want to dig in and make it difficult. That’s why it’s so easy to play against this Liverpool team.”
