Former England international Stuart Pearce has destroyed Newcastle United right wing back Emil Krafth for his performance against Liverpool on Saturday.
The Magpies came up short at Anfield as they lost 3-1 to Jurgen Klopp’s side, and the summer signing was one of the worst performers on the day.
Pearce certainly wasn’t enamoured by the Swede: “He’s not impressed me one bit in this game, Krafth,” he said on talkSPORT [14/09; 13:56].
“He’s been exposed every time he’s been one on one,” he finished.
OPINION
You don’t want to be too hard on Krafth, as he is clearly still adapting to English football after his summer move from French side Amiens, but he really didn’t have a good day at the office on Saturday. To be fair, there have been many a defender who has been left chastened by a trip to Anfield or a clash with this current Liverpool side, but that’s no excuse for a woeful display that had many Newcastle fans wishing for the return to the starting line up of Javier Manquillo or DeAndre Yedlin. The main selling point when Krafth was brought to Tyneside was that he is defensively solid, something which hasn’t always been the case with the aforementioned right back duo, particularly the latter. However, his defensive deficiencies were brutally laid bare by the Reds’ fearsome attack. Like Pearce says, Krafth really struggled to cope one-on-one with the Liverpool forwards, being beaten time and time again. Once more, this happens against players like Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane, but that’s no excuse for just how bad the summer signing was at Anfield.
