Liverpool were left stunned as Jurgen Klopp’s side were hit for seven by Aston Villa on Sunday evening.

A Mo Salah brace wasn’t enough to stop the rampant home side as they ravaged the defending Premier League champions. Ollie Watkins netted a hat-trick, Jack Grealish got two with debutant Ross Barkley and John McGinn also chipping in.

It was an evening from hell for Klopp with so many poor performers across the board, he’ll be thankful that there’s an international break inbound.

The Reds haven’t leaked a whopping seven goals since 1963 but where did it go ever so wrong?

Defensive mistakes were rife across the backline but perhaps the root cause of the problem came from their lightweight midfield, especially with Naby Keita, who was hooked at half-time.

And rightfully so.

The 25-year-old lost 100% of his duels, both on the ground and aerially, and also lost possession seven times, failed to record a key pass or dribble and had one shot blocked, via SofaScore.

It’s awfully telling that he was withdrawn whilst both Georginio Wijnaldum and Fabinho were both kept on for the game’s entire duration. It’s even worse knowing that Villa only notched 30% possession throughout too.

This isn’t the first time this season that Keita has underperformed either. He’s failed to record above a 6.6 rating in the Premier League since the start of the 20/21 campaign.

One duel from seven won versus Arsenal, zero key passes against Leeds. Keita has simply got to improve if he’s going to continue to start matches under Klopp.

He cost a once club-record £48m and is raking in around £120k-per-week, which puts him among the highest earners at Anfield and as such, he simply isn’t justifying his wage with these underwhelming displays.

Keita let Klopp down once more. It’s surely only a matter of time before he’s back on the bench.

AND in other news, Liverpool are making huge mistake by forcing one man out…