Following two draws and a defeat to Manchester United, Jurgen Klopp’s men were under immense pressure to get results after being 16th on the PL table.
A resounding 9-0 thrashing of Bournemouth allayed those fears but Wednesday’s mid-week fixture against Newcastle saw Liverpool revert back to the disinterested side that supporters saw during the first three games.
It was the visitors that played with more intensity and heart at Anfield and also managed to take the lead in the first through new signing Alexander Isak.
While the Reds still found getting past Nick Pope difficult even in the second half, an equalizer from Roberto Firmino and a stoppage-time winner from Fabio Carvalho ensured Liverpool the three points.
With 5 minutes added on, the tired legs of Newcastle players gave way to the Portuguese international who sneaked his effort past Pope after chancing upon a loose ball inside the Newcastle box.
Having scored just his second goal for the Reds, the 20-year-old was thrilled as the Anfield faithful rose up in a roar to celebrate with the youngster who was seen posing for the cameras near the touchline as well.
However, it appears despite the initial sharing of enthusiasm, the footballing community has slammed Carvalho for doing the gun celebration after pictures of his and teammate Harvey Elliott pulling out the pose surfaced online.
Carvalho has used the gun gesture as his trademark choice of celebration on several occasions during his time with Fulham.
However, the player using the celebration in the aftermath of a fatal shooting in the city of Liverpool has led to an immediate backlash from supporters.
Why are Liverpool players doing a trigger/gun celebration after scoring tonight? TASTELESS especially after recent events in the City of Liverpool pic.twitter.com/IUEFba54nc
— Match/Talk/Men Football Podcast (@Glauber_Berti) August 31, 2022
Earlier this week Merseyside Police made arrests in the city following the murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, an incident which shook residents of Liverpool.
Amongst the fear of crime on the rise in the city and the sad news of the passing of the young girl, it certainly appears to not have been the right time for Carvalho to have pulled out his ‘trigger celebration’.
As the player is still getting used to staying in the city and becoming a part of the community in Liverpool, perhaps this moment of unawareness will be forgiven by Reds supporters who would still be backing Carvalho to aid the team’s climb up the PL table.
