- Pennant not happy with Liverpool perfomance
- Hits out at Reds star for Everton display
- Interesting comments on getting three points
Jermaine Pennant delivers a brutal verdict on Liverpool’s “poorest” performer following a dramatic 100th-minute Merseyside derby win
Jermaine Pennant was not happy with Liverpool’s performance in the Everton win, but was delighted that they came away with all three points.
Arne Slot’s side left it late in the Merseyside derby with Virgil van Dijk scoring a 100th-minute winner. The Reds had taken the lead through Mohamed Salah in the first half, but Beto managed to pull the home side level early in the second half.
Pennant has warned Liverpool that they cannot afford to “sugarcoat” a sluggish Merseyside derby performance, despite Virgil van Dijk’s 100th-minute heroics securing a massive three points at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
While the dramatic 2-1 victory has put Arne Slot’s side on the brink of Champions League qualification, the former Reds winger insists the display was far from the level required for the challenges ahead.
Pennant was on talkSPORT discussing the Merseyside derby when he said the performance was not up to scratch. He said the derby result went in the Anfield side’s favour, and that was crucial, but not because of the performance.
“Let’s not sugarcoat it. It wasn’t a great performance from Liverpool, but in these derbies, you don’t care. You don’t care if you play absolutely awful, but come out on top and win the game. That’s all we care about in the derbies, and I think that’s what it was.”
He went on to praise the players for not giving up and pushing for the win until the end, and said:
“We never [gave up], we kept going all the way until that final whistle, and like Liverpool have shown over the years, that mentality that we have got, we showed a bit of that again and we scored in the 100th minute, which was which was amazing.”
Pennant went on to hit out at Everton, saying that they would have been aware of the late goals scored by the Reds in the derbies, but were never able to focus in the final stages of the game.
Jermaine Pennant hits out at Liverpool star after Everton win
Pennant named Florian Wirtz as the worst player on the pitch, adding that it was one of the German’s worst performances for Liverpool. The pundit went on to add that the emotions got the better of the midfielder, and but his teammates managed to help him out and collect all three points.
“Nothing great. Nothing to rave about. I think Florian Wirtz, it was probably one of his, for me, probably, his poorest game that I’ve seen. But it’s a derby. Sometimes the emotions, sometimes the adrenaline can get the best of you and it’s just all about surviving and fighting, and winning your duels.”
The former player admitted that he was not expecting a big performance from Arne Slot’s side, given their recent form, but was delighted that they got the win. He went on to state that the fifth place is crucial for the Reds, and getting the win with a sluggish performance was needed for the bigger picture.
“I wasn’t expecting us to be absolutely amazing on the form that we’ve been in, but again, it’s all about that three points, trying to get, you know, fifth place and hopefully we can put on better performances moving forward. But yeah, it was a it was a okay performance, but a great win.”
Liverpool have a tough ending to the season with four of their last five matches coming against teams that are right around them in the Premier League table. The Reds need three wins to seal their place in the UEFA Champions League next season, regardless of the results elsewhere.
