Roy Keane rips into Liverpool players as Man Utd icon slams Arne Slot's 'bad champions'

Man United legend Roy Keane has slammed Liverpool as 'bad champions' after their 1-1 draw with Tottenham at Anfield

Roy Keane has slammed Liverpool as "bad champions" in a scathing attack on last season's Premier League victors. Following their triumphant title-winning campaign, this term has delivered numerous headaches for Arne Slot and his squad.

The Reds have not only crashed out of the title race, trailing Arsenal by a massive 21 points, but are also scrapping to qualify for Champions League football next season. Liverpool's fight for European qualification suffered another blow on Sunday afternoon when Richarlison struck in the dying moments to earn Tottenham Hotspur a draw at Anfield.

Dominik Szoboszlai had put his team ahead after merely 18 minutes, but it proved to be another familiar tale for Liverpoo l as the ex-Everton striker capitalised on woeful defending to claim a vital point for his side in their battle against relegation to the Sky Bet Championship.

Speaking following the match at Anfield, Keane targeted Liverpool's players over this season's decline and suspects there are problems brewing behind closed doors.

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"Considering they were league champions last year, I've said it before and I've said it a number of times, Liverpool are bad champions," he told Sky Sports.

"They have been bad champions and they were bad champions a couple of years ago. They are now 21 points behind Arsenal, what a drop off that is. That is so bad.

"I think there are issues going on in the background, I think there are bigger issues. They are details you can fix, but I think there is stuff going on, I don't know if they are all on the same page and there doesn't seem to be that chemistry with the players.

"You are on about when you win big titles, sometimes the big challenge is the following year - can you back it up?

"You can obviously have a drop off and (Manchester) City have had a drop off recently in terms of their high standards but they are still competing in second or third.

"They are not 20 or 30 points behind the team who is winning the league. That is a drop off but for Liverpool to be so far off last year they lost four games they have lost nine already this year and I find it hard to get my head around that."

And when it was highlighted that some of those defeats last season occurred after Liverpool had already secured the league title, Keane added: "They were slacking off a little bit and switched off of course.

"But it is almost that mentality and last year I was critical of Liverpool and I felt they were always partying too much. They were partying with four, five, six weeks to go and there was celebrations after every home game and you are going, you are Liverpool Football Club - are you not expected to win league titles?

"So when you do win it, enjoy it but let's back it up next year. That is why you are playing for the big clubs not like those teams who win a trophy and then disappear for 10, 15 years, and I will be thinking the same about Arsenal.

"When Arsenal win the league this year, I don't want Arsenal to disappear for the next three, four or five years. You have got to back it up and not be 20, 30 points behind the top team next year, you have got to compete, that is your challenge.

"And when you are giving up goals like that, or whether the ones at Wolves recently, or even the game against Man City, I look at this group of players, their mentality and work rate and desire and what they are doing on the training pitch and I don't like what I see with this Liverpool group. I just don't like it."

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