Steven Gerrard makes Arne Slot prediction after ‘unacceptable’ Liverpool draw with Burnley

Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has offered his reaction to his former club’s 1-1 Premier League draw at home to Burnley

08:30, 18 Jan 2026Updated 08:47, 18 Jan 2026

Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard pictured ahead of the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal at City Ground on January 17, 2026(Image: James Holyoak/MB Media/Getty Images)

He may have been at the City Ground and not Anfield, but Steven Gerrard’s disappointment at seeing Liverpool throw away further points was clear to see. The 1-1 draw with Burnley means the Reds have become the first defending Premier League champions not to beat any of the three promoted clubs at home in a single season.

It followed the 0-0 and 1-1 draws with Leeds United and Sunderland respectively and while the result stretched Liverpool’s unbeaten run in all competitions to 12 matches, 10 of which have come in the league, there was little cause for celebration and, in fact, the frustration among supporters was clearly audible on the full-time whistle.

Legendary Reds midfielder Gerrard wasn’t there to hear the boos but, speaking as a pundit on TNT Sports’ live coverage of leaders Arsenal’s 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest, he made it clear that the result was not “acceptable”.

READ MORE: Arne Slot explains what is holding back new signings after latest Liverpool disappointmentREAD MORE: Florian Wirtz makes telling Liverpool admission after fourth successive league draw

And while the 45-year-old admitted a “lot of criticism” will be coming the way of Arne Slot, he still says the head coach “deserves credit” for stopping the rot after a run of nine defeats in 12 games saw his side crash out of the Carabao Cup and effectively end hopes of defending their title.

Instead, the height of the Reds’ Premier League ambitions now seem to be achieving a top-four finish. Sitting fourth, they are currently one point above Manchester United, two above Chelsea, and three above Brentford and Sunderland.

Gerrard said: “That won’t be acceptable – a draw with Burnley at home, with all due respect. If you’re being critical of the Liverpool team – even though they’re on a better run in terms of unbeaten games – the draws to the likes of Leeds and Burnley at home. That’s not acceptable.

“There will be a lot of criticism that comes the manager’s way again. But give the manager credit. The last time we spoke about this, you asked me if the team was in a crisis, and I said I didn’t think it was in a crisis because I felt like this manager was capable of making things better and steadying the ship.

“He has moved the team from the middle of the table and up back into the Champions League positions.

“I think that will be a priority for him and the team, minimum top four this season, but that won’t take anything away from the criticism that will come his way.”

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Slot, who led the Reds to the title in his first season in charge, addressed the full-time boos after a match Burnley earned a share of the spoils from thanks to Marcus Edwards’ 65th-minute strike, which cancelled out an excellent first-half opener from Florian Wirtz.

The point did little to aid the second-from-bottom Clarets’ survival prospects, however. Their winless run in the Premier League now stands at 13 games and they remain eight points adrift of safety after fourth-from-bottom Forest shut out Arsenal.

Slot said: “In my head, it wasn’t a boo but in my head. It was frustration as well. We are Liverpool and we play Burnley, who we have to give credit to how they defended, cleared balls off the line; all the things you want to see if you are a Burnley manager, players try to do everything that prevents us from scoring.