“I don’t understand…” – Gary Lineker can’t believe what he’s heard about Liverpool recently | OneFootball

Gary Lineker has been left baffled by some of the criticism surrounding Liverpool in the early weeks of the season.

The Premier League champions have begun the defence of their title with five straight wins (including games against Newcastle away, Arsenal and Everton) and also made a winning start to their Champions League campaign last week.

However, some pundits have been left distinctly unimpressed by the Reds due to their curious reliance on late goals to secure most of those victories, with Paul Merson ridiculously claiming in recent days that Arne Slot’s side ‘should be mid-table’ and have been ‘gifted six points’.

Lineker baffled by criticism of Liverpool

In the latest episode of The Rest Is Football, Alan Shearer said that Liverpool didn’t play particularly well in the Merseyside derby at the weekend, but he feels that their ability to rack up consecutive victories despite not being at their best is a ‘positive’ rather than a concern.

Lineker emphatically agreed, saying: “It’s not a worry at all. If you’re doing that when you’re not absolutely flying and you’ve won five out of five, then I don’t understand why people are saying that this is an issue for them.

“I think it’s a bonus because you’re also nurturing in new players and you’re working out your best team. Slot is trying to get the balance with different players.

“I think it’s a real positive. I can’t see any negative side to it. Obviously you want to go out all guns blazing, playing glorious football and winning 5-0, but we all know football’s not like that. It never is.”

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Lineker makes valid point about integration of new players

Lineker has hit upon a salient point that many pundits who’ve been critical of Liverpool seem to be ignoring – Slot is still attempting to integrate several new players into the team, and it can obviously take time for an innate chemistry to form with embryonic relationships on the pitch.

That may explain why Florian Wirtz is yet to score for the Reds in seven games – Steve Nicol said he was ‘disappointed‘ with how the German has started the season – but the 22-year-old has offered glimpses of what he can provide with his devastating threat on the counterattack.

The Merseysiders looked excellent in the first half of their two most recent matches against Atletico Madrid and Everton, and while the subsequent drop-off in both fixtures may be a cause for concern, there are signs that the new-look team is beginning to click.

If – as we’d like to think – Liverpool still have a few more gears to reach throughout the autumn, it’s possible that they could approach the middle third of the season with an emphatic lead already established in the Premier League.

By winning five top-flight games on the bounce, the Reds have already exceeded their longest winning streak from the title-winning 2024/25 campaign, and there were plenty of wins last term which were every bit as hard-fought as those in recent weeks.

Lineker is absolutely right – if you’re winning consistently, then there’s much more reason to be cheerful than concerned.