Paul Scholes accuses Liverpool of ‘Arrogance’ in Premier League title run-In

Paul Scholes has suggested that Liverpool are showing signs of arrogance as they edge closer to the Premier League title.

Despite sitting 11 points clear at the top of the table, recent form has raised concerns. Arne Slot’s team has now lost three of their last four matches across all competitions, including a 3-2 defeat away to Fulham — their first Premier League away loss of the season.

That game saw Liverpool concede three goals in just 14 minutes during the first half, all stemming from defensive lapses. A win would have extended their lead even further, but they now need 11 points from their final seven matches to secure the title.

Virgil van Dijk was involved in Fulham’s third goal, with Rodrigo Muniz capitalizing on the defender’s mistake. The Dutchman was also nearly punished for a first-half error in the Merseyside derby win over Everton when Beto hit the post.

Speaking on Premier League Productions, Paul Scholes said:
“It [the title race] could be prolonged. You’d expect them to beat West Ham and Leicester City. You just need someone a bit closer to them. Arsenal have to be kicking themselves because this was a real opportunity, obviously with Man City not having the quality you’d expect in the title race."

“If Arsenal were a bit closer it could have got a bit shaky for Liverpool. It still could if Arsenal win all their games – you can’t think Arsenal are going to win all their games especially with the two Real Madrid games coming up."

“But Liverpool are going to limp over the line looking at today’s performance. I sense a bit of arrogance about them as if ‘you shouldn’t be able to land a finger on us today. You shouldn’t be able to beat us,’ and I think they’ve shown that in the last few weeks."

“A bit of sloppiness creeping in and I think it comes from the captain [Van Dijk]. I think he really needs to make sure that there’s a proper determination to get over the line as soon as possible.”

Slot came to the defence of his captain in his post-match press conference, emphasizing Van Dijk’s continued contributions.
“Van Dijk is not the first player to find it difficult to defend against Beto. And the one that played here today, you have to give credit to him also. I still see a lot of things that Virgil does really well, but if you play 50-60 games a season, there will be moments, even for him, where you could have done better.”