Wayne Rooney has warned Liverpool that their decline could yet mimic the cautionary tale of their Premier League rivals Manchester United, after Arne Slot’s side slipped to an unedifying 3-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday.
The English champions were unable to reverse their fortunes after the international break as they recorded their eighth defeat in 11 games against Sean Dyche’s men.
Forest have not won back-to-back at Anfield since 1963 and had struggled this season amid a managerial churn that has seen Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou, and now Sean Dyche all seated in the dugout.
But after conceding in the first-half, Liverpool were unable to harness the support of the home faithful to do anything other than fall further and further behind.
Although Liverpool are in the midst of a rebuild under Slot and earned their last piece of silverware mere months ago, Rooney had a word of warning for the Merseyside club on Match of the Day after reviewing their performance.
The Man United legend stressed that making sure their leaders stood tall was crucial in this challenging moment – unless they wanted to follow in the footsteps of their loathed rivals.
‘Liverpool are a very good team and they’re going through a very difficult moment,’ Rooney said. ‘They’ve been going through a tough time all season really.
‘Even at the beginning of the season, they won games, but they were struggling with performance.
‘Throughout the season, it’s those leaders in that dressing room that have to pick the players up because if not then, we’ve seen over the last few years with Manchester United and last season with Tottenham, they can slip down the table.’
Rooney also noted that the stopping the rot at the back was the most important thing for Slot to get on top of for the team to right their campaign.
‘Easiest thing to do when you’re struggling is get back in shape, get compact and Liverpool are very open at the minute and easy to play against,’ he added.
Rooney’s former side endured a torrid 2024-25 campaign, with new manager Ruben Amorim unable to halt the continuing decline ongoing under former head coach Erik ten Hag.
United finished a woeful 15th in the Premier League standings and missed out on European football this term after losing their Europa League final meeting with Tottenham.
This season however, Amorim and Co have put together a string of promising results on the heels of early tumult and a premature Carabao Cup exit to League Two toilers Grimsby Town.
After the final whistle on Saturday afternoon, Reds captain Virgil van Dijk admitted that he and his team-mates were letting their manager down with their ‘unacceptable’ performances.
‘You look at yourself first and then you help each other, you help each other get out of this mess because at the moment it is a mess – that’s just a fact,’ the Netherlands international said. ‘As the champions we can’t be in the situation we are in right now but it’s a fact.
‘What are we going to do about it? We’re going to try to turn it around and that’s the mentality everyone should have.’
Rooney previously highlighted his perceived faults in Liverpool’s leadership following their defeat to Brentford, with the former England international singling out Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah for their negative body language.
‘This is a time where the manager and the leaders in the team need to figure it out very quickly. Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, they’ve signed new deals but I don’t think they’ve really led that team this season.
‘I think body language tells you a lot, and I think we’re seeing slightly different body language from the two of them. They are the top two players in that team and if their body language is not right, that affects everyone else.
‘I might be wrong on this, but if I was a Liverpool fan or the manager, that would be a big concern for me.’
For his part, Van Dijk hit back at the pundit, saying coolly how he had not heard pundits’ criticisms last season.
