"Liverpool players were USELESS!" | Nev reacts to Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool | Gary Neville Podcast

Welcome along, thanks for joining us on the Gary Neville podcast. Today Gary and I have just been watching a very dramatic game at Stamford Bridge. What a finish Gary. Yeah, incredible. A game that swung back and forwards a little bit. Chelsea definitely deserved it in the end. I think the problems that they had to contend with during the game with injuries, their intent in the last 15 minutes. I always think that football games are won by intent, teams that look like they want to win. I'm not saying Liverpool didn't, they obviously did,

but I thought after they scored I was really disappointed in their level of performance. A lot's been made of Liverpool's defensive work and rightly so, but today for me that's not why they've lost this game. They've lost this game. They've lost this game because in the last 15 20 minutes, they're creative

players. The players in the. Final half of the pitch, the midfield players in the forwards were absolutely useless, though, giving the ball away like you wouldn't believe. I mean,

Gatpo down here. Salar over on that far side, the wastage first, not knowing how to get in the last 15 minutes when he was there for the take in and just sort of almost marking Casedo. I was watching him quite a lot. And yeah, but Chelsea, honestly, the way in which they kept going, they kept attacking the players they've lost during the game,

it was a brilliant win for them. And it's been a tough week or two. And I wasn't expecting that after Liverpool scored, I have to say.

Did you feel in injury time that Chelsea were the only team who were going to win it?

You still, because of Liverpool and how they've been, think they're going to put that sting in the tail, don't you, and they're going to burst the bloom, but I just felt as though the three in midfield for Chelsea, Lavia, Cossedo and Fernandes, they were running all over Liverpool's midfield. And they were protecting that back four. I mean, Liverpool had so many opportunities to counter attack and were wasteful, but I just felt Chelsea's intent. You know, they changed the whole front three.

Estevão comes on on this side, they've got Gittins on that side and then the boy in the middle, I can never pronounce his name correctly. Guiu. Yeah, and you're thinking, well, Liverpool should be able to handle that and they should be able to handle that, and they should be able to spring off it and go in attack. But Chelsea kept coming forward.

They kept coming forward. They had so much intent, so much positivity. They dominated possession in the last 10 minutes. They dominated touches in the box. They dominated shots on goal. They were by far the better team over the course of the whole game.

Liverpool, not quite right. Don't think it's time to panic but Chelsea really from where I'd seen them at Old Trafford a couple of weeks ago and obviously got beat last week at Brighton that's a brilliant brilliant turnaround going into the international break and they needed that because they've been obliterated with injuries as well and this you know happens this stadium a lot. I've been to watch them here in Champions League winning seasons and title winning seasons,

but that atmosphere at the end was pretty special.

And I mean, you mentioned the Liverpool defensive reshuffle, which as far as we know, was by design from Arna Slot, but Chelsea themselves lost their first choice centre-halves today, and they themselves are reserve players pretty much,

and yet still managed to hold out for this win. Yeah, I think it's six centre-backs isn't it that Chelsea have lost including the two that they lost during the game today which you know they've ended up with Hato and Rhys James at centre-back which you know how Liverpool with Wurts, Ekotika, Isak, Salah, Gakpo all on the pitch haven't gone and scored a second goal

you'll never know but it's down to how they defended that four they did really well but also just the spirit of the players in front they were fantastic Liverpool's back four I thought was a disappointing day for Conor Bradley didn't have really much time to speak about him going off at halftime but that was the right decision do you think though yeah yeah I think so yellow card but obviously they need to get back into the game as well.

I mean, Conor Bradley started the game, I thought, well in the first five minutes, on the ball, he did a couple of nice things down here. But I said during the first half, there's an old adage, it's Rio Ferdinand's words to me every time I went out and played eight, nine years of my career when I played with him, saying nothing down our side. And I don't think Liverpool's right side thinks that way, hasn't done for a number of years, but Conor Bradley, a real chance today,

it's almost like going back into midfield, Frimpong on the bench, Conor Bradley's a player that I think's got real talent and potential, but he didn't handle Gennaccio well in that first half, the game. I mean, I think he was. I mean, he was a little bit off. Gonna actually, I thought got the better of him

not in doing anything amazing, but I just thought he had him. I just thought he had him and you know, you can see when someone's just shading again. You know, can actually was

winning on points if you like, and obviously gets booked. He has another little nibble at and you are down in the dumps when that happens, because this is Conor Bradley's big day today, so he's missed an opportunity, when you get an opportunity in life you've got to take it, and this was a big opportunity for him, Arnazlot saying, right, go on, you're in, big game,

Chelsea away, just before the international break, cement your place, and putting you in there in front of Frimpong, the way he's done it. Canate looks like he's struggling. The boy Kirk has, to be honest with you, at this moment in time, he looks like a youth team player. And that's not being sort of, I know he's a good player,

but he looks like he's playing for the under-21s, for the youth team, for the academy. He looks so naive. Looks like a baby out there, like you're thinking, come on. in 50-50s over on that far side against Neto. I mean... I mean he was probably brought in as a long-term replacement wasn't he for

Andy Robertson. Do you think his introduction perhaps could have been more gradual? I just thought he's played in the Premier League though. He's a Premier League experience. It's not as if he's coming from a different country. He's got a lot of games under his belt. He's played at these defensive play. He's got a great defensive play. Well,

he's played at these grounds before I expected him to slot in. Excuse the pun. Um I expected him to sort of just go right in because one is playing alongside Virgil van Dyck, the

best and a half in the world. So if you want to play against you know you're gonna play. Um in the back four. You want to that. He's got players who work hard on that side. It's not as if he's got Salah in front of him on this side, which is a bit more difficult for the right back because you always get a little bit more exposed. But I have to say from that first minute of that game, or first 10 minutes of that game against Bournemouth on the first day of the season, on that Friday

night, he struggled. Let's be clear, Liverpool's full backs are struggling. Frimpong looks he should be playing as a right winger. Which is where he did play in the early days. An out and out right winger, he just looks like a right winger, he doesn't perform like a right back. Connor Bradley just isn't doing it. Andy Robertson I think he's battling,

he's battling but he's not quite where he was a few years ago. Kyrgios as I've said, I think I've discussed him and sort of seen how he's going. Liverpool's problems, I think, at this moment in time are as much to do with full-back as anywhere. They need to button that down.

They didn't create a lot of chances, Chelsea. I don't think that today Liverpool's defensive work was awful. But they just weren't quite there, and I actually thought their front players were terrible. I mean, Salah, he's sublime, how can you criticise Mo Salah? The consistency and reliability and brilliance of him.

But some of the decisions of him today, when he comes inside and you think he should pass it, or he think he should do something better with it, he's finishing. So he was poor today. Isaac, I thought he'd started the game sharp, didn't quite get into it. Verts when he came on, I was disappointed with him. I said after a few weeks ago on this podcast after the Arsenal game, again he looks very very immature in his knowledge of how to

play the game. The players who play that game, you know, that position really and he's obviously got massive talent. His first touch when he came on was amazing and Salah should have scored. Just seems like jogging around and sort of jogging towards players. I see

him going too deep when he shouldn't go too deep, and I see him standing next to players when he shouldn't be standing next to players. Sometimes I see him being too honest. It

sounds crazy. Going back and defending. We should be almost and thinking if he goes forward, OK, I can get to him, but I'm going to sit on his shoulder a little bit just in case I can spring off him and go the other way on the counter-attack. He's quite predictable at this moment in time in terms of picking up his position. And he was disappointing. Liverpool were poor today, and in the second half I was really disappointed with them. If you're in Liverpool, that's the most disappointing last 15 minutes

I've seen from Liverpool in a long time. Because I think when Chelsea have that back four in play, you've scored a goal, you've got to go on and win that game. Everything's said Liverpool should go on and win that game, but they've not done. And that's a problem for them, and look, it's not terminal, we've got a title race on, Arsenal have had a great week, Liverpool have had a poor week,

and I think it makes for a great next six months, because obviously it's going to be a real battle. But for Liverpool, they've got some work to do, but they've got experienced players, they've got world-class players and individuals in their team, they've got a great manager, they'll sort it out, but the full-backs have to step up, Virts has to start playing and understanding how he's going to connect with Isak and the other forwards in the team. They've got some work to do.

The one who got away, as far as Liverpool are concerned, a good couple of years ago now, but I think he keeps coming back to Haultnam,

was Caicedo, and we have to pay tribute to his performance today, not just the goal. He was the best player on the pitch by a mile. Yeah, forget the goal, which was absolutely incredible. He's getting to the ball, he's taking the ball off people, he's working around the pitch, he's two in one, he's everything. He's a brilliant midfield player, he's the best player on the pitch by a mile, if Liverpool had him in midfield, they probably would have won. He was that good.

And I think that when he first came, it wasn't quite happening for him, he's got a lot of talent. He's got a lot of experience. He's got a lot of experience in the midfield. It probably would have won. Um he was that good, and I think I think that. Yeah when he first came, it wasn't quite happening for him was it was playing in that two in midfield

alongside alongside Enzo and everyone looking at him, thinking, Well, what is he? But now. He's uh but I think he's yeah he's the best midfield player in the league at this moment in time and I think I'm comfortable saying that I think Gravenbos last season and maybe Declan

Rice and the boy two boys up at Newcastle, Rodri obviously for the last few years but now I think at this time that we are here today, getting into October 25, I think we can say that Cosseido is the best midfield player in the league, and he's performing like that. And you talked about Liverpool's wide areas, but Chelsea used theirs quite effectively, didn't they? First of all with Garnaccio, and then even after the substitutions,

obviously Esteveau had the final say.

Yeah, I thought Garnaccio played well. I mentioned before about immaturity of Verts in his positions, but I thought Gennaccio was very mature today. Sometimes when I've watched him at United I thought he's a little bit ill-disciplined in terms of his football and how he plays. I thought he was quite disciplined today, I thought he made some good runs, I thought he made good choices on the ball.

I thought it was a good 75 minutes that he played. I thought he played well, I thought Neto did a good job on that right-hand side. I mean, they weren't spectacular, they didn't light the game up in any way, in terms of how they assist and goal and amazing shots, but I just thought they were very solid in their performances, and that's what you want sometimes from your wide players, like João Pedro as well. And then when Estevão came on, he had that bit of brilliance, the cross that he put in just before he scores for Enzo Fernandes,

who misses with the header, it's the post, that should have been 2-1 at that point, so Liverpool had the warning sign. But yeah, I thought that was a brilliant night for Chelsea, I thought it was a brilliant performance, I thought the wide players did well, I thought they all did well, I don't think there was anybody in a Chelsea shirt that I looked at that I didn't think played anywhere, you know, basically close to their top level.

I thought they were some really good performers, you can't beat Liverpool and not be at your best. That's the biggest compliment you can pay to Liverpool. The key question with Chelsea though is if they can do this when they're weakened by injuries and suspensions, when they get those players back and the squad is even stronger can they be in the conversation to to challenge Liverpool to challenge Manchester City to challenge Arsenal? Yeah I mean look I saw them a couple of weeks ago at Old Trafford and they went down to 10 men so it was a bit of a game

that was skewed by that but I still was disappointed in them after that I thought they could have done a lot better particularly when United went to 10 men and obviously they lose last weekend at Brighton, but you're right when they get these players back they've got a massive squad and that's why they've amassed this squad to be able to cope with the World Club Championship, with Champions League football, with all the cup competitions and the Premier League and they spent a lot of money to do so. So we should be expecting this from Chelsea, I

mean I think they've only got up to six today haven't they? It's not as if they've had a great start to the season, they haven't, but that's a big moment for them, that should give them a lot of confidence. And they have to be at that level of intensity in all games, you can't just switch it on and off like a tap, you have to be at that level of intensity. You're playing against Brighton, or you're playing against Nottingham Forest here, or whatever it may be, teams that get yourself. You know, you might be a tourist here in a

few weeks or whenever it may be teams that you feel that you maybe should beat. Burnley you have to as a player, get yourself up. You have to find a way to be able to get yourself

at that level of intensity that you would do naturally through the adrenaline rush of a big game like Liverpool or Arsenal or. Manchester City. You know the games where you naturally you just spiked you know straight away but you've got to find a way to get yourself spiked for those other games and you've got to be consistent all the way through the season so these Chelsea players and the

manager has to find a way to get that out of them but they've set themselves a standard today particularly in that last 15 minutes you know when you talk about showing character they couldn't have been anything gone further wrong everything went wrong for them today in the second half, didn't it, in terms of the defensive substitutions they had to make and they've coped with it and they've dealt with it and they've performed brilliantly.

Now Liverpool lost their second game in the 31st match of last season, they've lost two of their first seven now this season, so it's massive encouragement for Arsenal and you're talking about teams who win the title can sometimes drop silly points and West Ham today, would that have been potentially the kind of game it has been in the past where Arsenal have dropped points at home? Maybe, I didn't expect them to and they haven't done it, it looks like a solid 2-0 win, it's a good score

line sometimes when you just clean sheet, you've scored two goals, you've done your job, and obviously the title rivals that you're up against at this moment in time go on and basically lose, so what a week it's been for Arsenal. That was massive last weekend at Newcastle, as soon as that first goal went in I shouted the word big, because I felt it was big, and then the second goal goes in and you're thinking, right, that's a big moment.

The Liverpool have lost on the Saturday at Crystal Palace, Arsenal have won, they needed that, but I talk about intent a lot, and Mikel Ateta changed his intent about being positive and going for it, and having to win and picking a positive team, and making really positive substitutions, just like Enzo Maresco has done here today for Chelsea.

It matters, your manager, you've got to stop listening to what they say and look at what they do during the game. That'll tell you everything. Are they pragmatic? Are they cautious? Are they managers that you can be cautious and pragmatic when you're tuning up at home. I'm sure Michael Arthitte is tuning up against West Ham. We've won this game. We don't need to go and win it again. That's the time to keep possession and move it around the back, and maybe just be a little bit more careful. Before an international break, you don't want to go and make a big mistake,

but I think Arsenal are set up really nicely now. I think they'll see this last week as a massive week, because of what they've done, but also because of what's happened with Liverpool, they've given them encouragement.

Talking of massive weeks, it was one for Ruben Amorim, it was a date with Sunderland that he pretty much had to

win by the looks of things and he did get the win. Yeah, we were half watching it, weren't we, preparing for obviously this game and yeah it was a must-win game. I don't think it lets him off the hook, I think that there's too many defeats, the record's too poor, I don't think anybody will be celebrating too much tonight at Manchester United, but I think they'll be relieved that there is a victory today which allows a little

bit of peace going into the international break, but yeah I think that the big challenges are still to come, and I said last week I'm worried, I'm not any less worried tonight, but what it does mean when you win is that people just tend to ease off a little bit. And that's right, of course, but there's a lot to do. We've had these moments before where Manchester United beat Burnley a few weeks ago,

they've beaten Sunderland today, they'll win the odd game, but that's nowhere near enough. When you've got these free weeks to be able to prepare for matches, you know, United need to be right up there. I don't know where they've gone in the league. They've gone to eighth, have they, or something like that? I'd have to double check. Yeah, so it'll look a lot better, that's for sure. But I don't think anybody would be kidded on by the fact that Manchester United beating Sunderland at home, the fact that it was even in doubt before the game is probably the problem in itself.

What do you make of the fact that it's the fault of you and all your fellow pundits that have got into the players' heads for talking about the system? That's what Ruben Amirim claimed, the pundits had got into his players' heads with all this talk about the system and the system wasn't the problem. I've not seen that to be honest with you. Yeah, I've not got a lot of time for that. I think if you're...

Well, for a start, if pundits are getting into your head, then you shouldn't be playing for the club. Simple as that. I mean, do people not remember Alan Hanson criticising us when we broke in as young kids, saying you can't win anything with kids? That was the greatest centre-back of all time at that moment, the most successful centre-back of all time,

talking about us as if we were inferior and nowhere near good enough. Do they not think that we got criticised during our football careers? I'm sorry, you're playing for Manchester United, it comes with the territory, you've got to step up and you've got to basically... And look, they've been hopeless in the system, they've been absolutely hopeless. So, all right, it's not the system, it's you, the players. We can start just battering the players. I mean, I've mentioned the system because I've not liked certain things that I've said, for instance,

you know, Mason Mount playing left wing back, that can't happen, changing the back three all the time, that two in midfield means that Bruno's got to play in midfield, I don't like that aspect of it. So the parts of the system are a problem, in the sense that they haven't got the right players, or it's meaning that Bruno's not in his best position, which is probably in that position where we've seen Enzo Fernandes today, in that number 10. So the system does create problems, but you're right, he's right in what he says, it's not the entirety of the problem. The players are a problem, the manager is a problem, the whole thing's a problem. If you're losing football matches to the level that Manchester United have been

doing, then I don't know, I never blamed anybody else when we lost football matches. And I played in the dressing room that basically when you lost football matches you came in and you said sorry about that last day I was a mess for that goal or I made a mistake there was accountability. Why would you blame other people when you make when you're losing matches? I mean to be fair that's a pretty big problem in itself so no I look I've not got any time for it excuse mentality, shortcuts, blaming other people you know it's the it's the worst thing that you can do in life,

I think they just need to concentrate on doing their jobs and do it well, and win football matches, the only thing that's going to shut anybody up is winning football matches, and they've not won anywhere near enough football matches. We could all be quiet and say nothing about Manchester United, it's getting to that point, by the way, where people are just switching off a little bit and sort of saying well I expected it which is the worrying thing the fact that we're still talking about the club and the fact that the club still under scrutiny tells you

how big the club is but there's getting to that point now where Manchester United lose that you almost like to think well I expected that and that's a big problem because there's levels of drops to such a standard so no one wants that you think the ex-players that played for the club want to see Manchester United lose? You think I go there, my kids go there, you know, every other week if they're not going to Salford

and watch them play, and I go and watch them play if I'm not working for Sky. You think I want to go and watch them lose? You think I walk down that canal bank for 45 minutes into that stadium just to go and watch them lose. No I don't, I go to watch them win. And so does every other fan that goes in that stadium. So I think that they've just got to do their jobs

consistently and reliably, and they've got to start performing as they should be, which is a highly motivated, strong squad that's been put together with a lot of money placed on them, a lot of money being paid to them, a lot of money that's been spent on them, a lot of money being paid to them, a lot of money that's been spent on them, and they've got to basically go and win football matches on a consistent basis.

And in two weeks' time, they've got a massive opportunity to play at Anfield, the toughest game. And that will tell you where Manchester United are, it'll tell you where Liverpool are. It's a great game to look forward to in two weeks, because Manchester United are off the back of a win, Liverpool are off the back of a couple of defeats, the game will have pressure on both teams, both managers, and they'll have a chance to step up and play well in their system and play well at a difficult ground.

Before that we have the international break, so just one other issue to bring up with you. A lot of talk about Thomas Tuchel's squad yesterday and the fact that he omitted Jude Bellingham despite the fact that he is fit and back playing, to stick with the squad that had served them so well, particularly against Serbia in the last round of games.

Could you understand that decision or would you criticise him for leaving Bellingham out? No, he's definitely sending a message though. I mean, if you think about England managers over the last 20, 30 years, they've always brought their star players back in, even if they haven't played a game, just to get them back in amongst it, even just to train with the squad. So I think it is a message to Jude Bellingham, I don't think he'll take it any other way. There are enough signals I think that we've seen in Thomas Tuchel's press conferences to

know that he's not scared of making a tough decision. There's obviously things that he doesn't like, not just about Jude Bellingham, about other players as well and he's thinking, well no, I'm going to send them a message. I think he really liked what he saw in that last international break and he doesn't want to disrupt that. And I think he thinks the players that were together in that last international break

deserve to be together again. And I think he's probably got to a point in his career where he's strong enough, he's experienced enough to be able to handle the criticism that will come his way if it doesn't go well. I'm sure Jude Bellingham and Phil Fordham will have an opportunity to come back into the squad, and they should come back into the squad, but he's definitely sending them both a message, you can't not be.

I've been part of England's squads enough to know that managers tend, when they only have limited time with their players, to get all their players back together they want for a World Cup as much as possible. Just so that the rhythm, that's training practices, the sort of the what we're gonna do, I mean the World Cup preparation starts now really, you've only got another two, three weeks with the players before you get to a World Cup.

So Thomas Tuchel's got to use every single week that he has to get all those players together and he's decided to make that point this week with those big omissions and he's done that purposely because he feels as though he needs to send a message to people. He's certainly not starstruck by big names and the only time I've seen you starstruck was the presence of Madonna today. Well look, I mean, to be fair, there are very few what would be, when you think when you were growing up, you know, Freddie Mercury in Queen or you know, Michael Jackson and Madonna, David Bowie and these massive sort of

like megastars, you know, she was the first real female sort of megastar. I mean maybe Diana Ross and people like that, but for me Madonna almost broke the mold. She was a massive sort of noise when she first broke through and it was probably when I was about, maybe I don't know, felt like when I was about probably eight or nine or ten. Yeah just to see her in the crowd over there munching on the popcorn, watching the football.

She'll be wanting a season ticket now won you, after that late drama? Probably, yeah I hope she'll leave before the end. I actually asked that to the Cedar, did we get Madonna celebrating the Chelsea goal or not? He said no, we didn't have a camera on. I was like, well yeah, you can't take the camera off Madonna. He said no, we didn't have a camera on. I was like, well yeah, you can't take the camera off Madonna. I mean you've got one up here for me for the podcast, you've got to keep an eye on Madonna.