If Roy Keane had some pent-up frustration after the Republic of Ireland failed to make it to the World Cup, he let it out on Liverpool – and Alberto Moreno in particular.
The former Manchester United midfielder offered his analysis of the Reds’ 3-3 draw at Sevilla, in which they let a three-goal lead slip, and he had no doubt where the blame lay.
"Madness, pure madness!" Roy Keane wasn't impressed with Alberto Moreno's performance for @LFC on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/oe9GsOqL2p
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 22, 2017
“What he’s doing for the penalty, you wouldn’t see a child doing it,” Keane said on ITV. “The only word I can use is madness.
“Pure madness for an international player to do that.”
With Liverpool 3-0 up, Moreno gave away a soft free-kick from which Sevilla pulled back their first goal, then handed his former club a penalty when he miscontrolled on the edge of the box and tripped Wissam Ben Yedder.
Keane said: “We all know it’s a team game but sometimes you have to point the finger at somebody and say ‘listen, you’re killing us, you’re costing us’.”
The Ireland assistant manager, whose team missed out on a place in Russia by losing 5-1 to Denmark, believes Liverpool’s biggest issue is personnel.
They'll win a lot of football matches, but when it comes to the big games they'll come up short." – Roy Keane discusses @LFC pic.twitter.com/WuSAyVhhtv
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 22, 2017
“When you’ve got one or two players who I think aren’t good defenders then you’re going to have trouble in these big games,” he said.
“Liverpool will win a lot of football matches but when it comes to the big games and the tough games they’re going to come up short because they’ve got a couple of defenders who I think just aren’t good enough.”
Despite the draw, Liverpool still sit top of Group E and will ensure they progress to the knockout stages with a draw in their final match against Spartak Moscow at Anfield.