What Neville got ‘badly wrong’ about Liverpool as second ‘little boy’ in Slot’s side named | OneFootball

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has revealed what he got “badly wrong” about Liverpool as he has hit out at the “little boy” in their side.

Liverpool produced a really disappointing performance against Man City on Sunday as their Premier League title rivals comfortably beat them 3-0.

The Reds sorely lacked confidence as they sat back and invited pressure, with goals from Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez and Jeremy Doku settling the game in Man City’s favour.

This was a real wake-up call for Arne Slot‘s team after they earned wins against Aston Villa and Real Madrid, with this result leaving them eighth in the Premier League table heading into the international break.

Liverpool are also eight points adrift of table-toppers Arsenal, who drew 2-2 at Sunderland on Saturday night. Man City, meanwhile, have closed to within four points of the leaders.

Neville has revealed what he got “badly wrong” about the title race before Sunday’s 3-0 win for Man City.

“Pep has giving them a bit of belief going into the international belief,” Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast.

“They’re four points off Arsenal, they’ve got experience and they’ve got players who have been around the block and know how to win titles.

“He will just want to hang on Mikel Arteta’s shoulder by March because he’s the one you don’t want near you.

“I thought the biggest challenger [to title favourites Arsenal] would be Liverpool, I thought Man City were too inconsistent, but it looks like I was badly wrong.

“It was a really good day for Pep Guardiola and his City team. If they can still be around there and get close they are going to be really, really dangerous during the run-in just because of their experience.

“They’ve still got to convince me that they’re going to win the title – Arsenal are the better team – but they’re the one team and the one manager you wouldn’t want on your shoulder going down the home straight.”

MORE LIVERPOOL COVERAGE ON F365… 👉 Arne Slot ‘out of his depth in a paddling pool’ as Liverpool players ‘lost faith’ 👉 Where will Liverpool 2025/26 end up in the top 10 worst Premier League title defences? 👉 Neville hits out at Liverpool star for ‘killing’ teammate in ‘really strange’ moment vs Man City

Barring Conor Bradley, all of Liverpool’s players were poor and it was another disappointing game for summer signing Florian Wirt, who was ineffective from his new wide role.

Neville hit out at the £116m star after the match, claiming he “looked like a little boy” against Man City.

“Wirtz is a problem,” Neville claimed.

“Let’s just call it as it is. It’s an issue. He’s £100m+, and to be fair, I said a few weeks ago [Milos] Kerkez looked like a little boy out there. Today I thought Wirtz looked like a little boy. That can’t be the case.”

He continued: “We’ve been tiptoeing around him for a few months, around the fact that he’s young, he’s coming to a new country, but he’s £100m+, you’re going to have to stand up soon.

“He’s obviously got something, he’s a really good player, he’s technically fantastic, but he’s been mauled out there today by Matheus Nunes and by others.

“He’s been chucked around the pitch, and didn’t deliver on the quality side of things as well, so his performance was a real worry.”