Jamie Carragher has criticised a second Liverpool star for their part in Bryan Mbeumo’s opening goal for Manchester United in their 2-1 victory over the Reds after taking aim at Virgil van Dijk on commentary.

Mbeumo scored in the first minute at Anfieldand Harry Maguire’s late header scored all three points for the Red Devils after Cody Gakpo had pulled Arne Slot’s side level.

Carragher labelled Van Dijk a “baby”after an extraordinarily poor performance from the Liverpool captain, but picked out one of his teammates who was at least as much to blame for their terrible start to the game, though also hailed Ruben Amorim for nailing his tactics against the reigning Premier League champions.

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Analysing the goal on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Carragher said: “When you talk about teams playing direct football, having a low block as Arne Slot mentioned, it’s always seen as a criticism. But Ruben Amorim got his tactics absolutely spot on in this game in Anfield. There’s no doubt about that. That’s the only way they could win the game.

“We’re going to look at the goal here, initially in terms of the direct play. But it’s not just about going long.

“Let’s remember who he actually picked. He didn’t pick [Benjamin] Sesko, he picked [Matheus] Cunha to be underneath the ball.

“And what’s really important here, when we see this first challenge, is we’ve got the back five of Manchester United, three centre-backs, two wing-backs, quite wide.

“But the really important thing to notice is how narrow these players are here underneath the ball. So it’s not just go along, it’s about picking up the second ball.

“Ruben Amorim got his tactics ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON in this game.” ??

Jamie Carragher analyses how Man United were able to undo Liverpool early doors on Sunday ?? pic.twitter.com/IsHXZcweec

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 20, 2025

“Another really important point is nobody ever goes for the ball in behind in terms of a flick on or if Virgil Van Dyke misses it.

“So again, I mentioned Cunha being a little bit deeper than maybe a Sesko would be. So it was all about ‘maybe we don’t win the first ball, but we pick the second ball up’ here.

“And look how narrow the five Manchester United players are here, and that’s where this goal comes from.

“Harry Maguire wins it again, and because of the initial position of these players. Look how narrow Mason Mount is, Bruno Fernandes does really well.

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“Now we mentioned Virgil van Dyk, me and Gary [Neville] a lot on commentary, that he’s got to get back quicker, and there’s absolutely no doubt about that. But the guy alongside him, [Ibrahima] Konate, ever thought of the brilliant game, has got to do the same.

“So when [Amad] Diallo was on the ball, Konate is the closest man to get into where this ball is first of all, so he’s 27 yards away. Then we look at where Virgil Van Dyke is, he’s 30 yards away from that. And then you look at where Mbeumo is there, he’s 31 yards away.

“Now, what I would say is, if that was me in Virgil van Dyke or Konate’s position, maybe he beats me to the ball. But these are two of the quickest centre-backs in the Premier League, and they’ve got a start on him as well. And they just got to do more. They’ve got to sprint back and get there before he does.

“And we see it from a different angle as well here, which probably just highlights a little bit more as well on Konate – could he get across in that position?”