Steven Gerrard, a former Liverpool player, has been told to “correct mistakes” because his time playing for Saudi side Al-Ettifaq is proving to be a “disaster.”
The squad has dropped to seventh place in the Saudi Pro League after back-to-back losses despite having players like Georginio Wijnaldum, Moussa Dembele, and Demarai Gray at his disposal, along with longtime former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson as the skipper.
Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Al-Riyadh by Al-Ettifaq led to Gerrard’s admission that “we didn’t display what was asked of us. We weren’t performing at the level we had hoped.
Being a great player does not automatically translate into being a great coach, one Al-Ettifaq supporter retorted. Because of his poor skills, the coach was unable to comprehend the Saudi League’s challenges.
“You are the one who bears responsibility for today’s match,” one fan yelled. Redress your errors. Another person said, “Coach, your team is terrible. You’ll have to fix it on your own.
The fourth said, “The justification is unacceptable. The team’s situation is as follows. What novel information can you offer? Due to the caliber of the opposition, the outcome was even more detrimental because Al-Riyadh only won two of their first nine games.
Despite rumors that Ettifaq are keen in signing Jesse Lingard, Henderson and Gray both played the entire 90 minutes in the disheartening loss. The team’s next encounter is a trip to face mid-table rivals Al-Wehda, and Gerrard is already feeling the strain as a result of his team’s nine-point deficit to league leaders Al-Hilal after only 10 games, nine months into a two-year deal.
