Frank Leboeuf names 4 Liverpool stars who could lose their trust on Arne Slot after 2-1 loss against Manchester United

Liverpool boss Arne Slot could lose the backing of four first team stars after the 2-1 loss against Manchester United, according to Frank Leboeuf. The reigning Premier League champions' head coach received criticism from Leboeuf due to his team selection for the defeat at Anfield on Sunday.

Leboeuf, who won the World Cup with France in 1998, mainly questioned Slot for his decision to bench Hugo Ekitike. The former Chelsea defender also hailed the performances of substitutes Jeremie Frimpong, Curtis Jones and Federico Chiesa against Manchester United. Leboeuf feels all these players could soon lose their trust in Slot, if the Reds' coach continues to overlook their hard work off the bench.

Speaking about the situation on ESPN FC, Leboeuf commented:

“He’s going to lose the bench if he carries on like this. The players who came on against Manchester United, Frimpong, Curtis Jones, Ekitike, even Chiesa, who I don’t recognise from last season because he was anonymous and today he came on, worked hard."

Leboeuf insists that Slot cannot continue to pick players based on their price-tag, reiterating his stance about team selection being done on merit rather than fame.

He added:

"Those players, they work hard and they see players being picked by the coach because of their price tag, because of their fame, their past and not because of their qualities. That’s something you can be blamed of and on top of that, you can lose the players who are in top form right now, especially Ekitike.”

After suffering three straight losses in the Premier League, Liverpool have now slipped to third place in the table, four points behind leaders Arsenal.

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What next for Liverpool and Arne Slot?

The defeat to Manchester United was the first time Liverpool lost four straight games since 2014. Arne Slot is under pressure to deliver results, with the fixtures coming thick and fast across competitions in the coming weeks.

Before the international break in November, Liverpool face Eintrach Frankfurt, Brentford, Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup, Aston Villa, Real Madrid and Manchester City. Understandably, the Reds have their work cut out if they are to string together a strong run of results.

Despite the worrying run of form, Slot claimed that his team is not short of confidence. He sounded confident about embracing the challenge in the coming weeks and told reporters after the loss against Manchester United:

"So the life of a football manager is an ongoing challenge. If you win games, you want to keep winning. If you lose games, you want to start winning again. So do we lose confidence? I cannot see it yet because every single game we've lost, we were able to create in the second half an unbelievable amount of chances."

If Liverpool cannot put an end to their losing streak against Frankfurt, it will be the first time since 1953 that the Reds have lost five straight games.

Edited by Nived Zenith