Alberto Moreno Criticised by Jamie Carragher, More After Liverpool vs. Sevilla

It’s clear many associated with Liverpool, including former defender Jamie Carragher, consider left-back Alberto Moreno the key to the team’s surrender against Sevilla in the final of the UEFA Europa League on Wednesday.

The player's rashness allowed Sevilla to equalise just 17 seconds after the restart in Basel, Switzerland; the Primera Division side went on to win 3-1. And Carragher posted “Jurgen [Klopp], transfer committee, anyone sign a f--king left back” on his Twitter page (h/t James Whaling of the Daily Mirror), a bulletin later deleted.

Reds legends Michael Owen, Steve McManaman and Mark Lawrenson also had their say on the defender. 

Owen suggested there were two major errors in the buildup to Kevin Gameiro’s crucial equaliser. “He's a left-back and that's a shocking header, you should head it high and where you are facing, so it's a bad header to begin with,” said Owen on BT Sport (h/t Tom Farmery of MailOnline). “Then he comes flying in... It starts with Moreno and the second mistake again is Moreno.”

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In the moments preceding Sevilla's first goal, the Spaniard looked to head the ball away, although he didn't get enough distance on the clearance. Then, looking to atone for his error, he rushed out to Mariano, who knocked the ball through his legs and put one on a plate for Gameiro.

“He's picked out Mariano with a perfect header and, as I say, the challenge was atrocious but we highlighted Gameiro before the game and his movement is brilliant,” said McManaman on BT Sport (h/t Farmery).

Elsewhere, Lawrenson told BBC Sport (h/t Farmery): “We have seen it so many times over the course of the season, the left-back Moreno is good at getting forward but he cannot defend.”

Journalist Liam Canning was not impressed, either:

Indeed, after a first-half performance full of vibrancy, composure and physicality, manager Jurgen Klopp saw his side wilt in the second period. The goal so soon after the restart turned the tie on its head, and from that point on, the men in red couldn’t get near the Andalusians, who have won this competition three times in a row.

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The left-back, evidently, was a reason behind this downfall, and he has defended rashly at key points of games this season. But he’s still just 23 years old and seemed to let the emotion of playing his former side on such a grand stage get to him.

While Moreno had a poor game, as noted by Sport Witness, the reaction to his performance has been a little overblown:

After galling defeats, supporters often feel the need to find someone to blame. And after his poor performance on Wednesday, Moreno has been the main target of the Reds’ ire. Still, there were a lot of Liverpool players—some much more senior than the Spaniard—who failed to react following the Sevilla equaliser.

Klopp was always likely to look at the position this summer, as aside from Moreno options are scarce on the left side of the defence. But it must be a priority for the manager, as not only are there question marks over whether the role’s incumbent is up to the job, but it feels as though the trust in him from the fanbase has disintegrated following his torrid evening in Switzerland.