CBS Sports pundit Ian Paul Joy has once again criticised Liverpool for their apparently underwhelming start to the 2025/26 season following their last-gasp 3-2 Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night, and his comments have not gone down well with Reds supporters. Arne Slot’s side maintained their winning start thanks to a 92nd-minute header from Virgil van Dijk.
The dramatic win marked the third time in five games that the Premier League champions have found a winner in the 90th minute or later. The earliest they have scored a winning goal this season was in the 83rd minute against Arsenal. Worryingly, Liverpool have now surrendered a two-goal lead on three occasions – enough to make a trilogy of blown advantages already this campaign – which has only added to the notion among rivals that their current form is unsustainable.
Still, those within Liverpool circles can be optimistic. Many of the new players brought in during a £415 million transfer window are still settling in, and the fact the team is winning even when not at their best is a testament to a champion’s winning mentality – though not everyone sees it that way.
CBS Pundit Slams ‘Overrated’ Liverpool
There’s nothing Joy loves more than a passionate rant, and he proved it after Liverpool’s Community Shield defeat to Crystal Palace in August, when he sensationally predicted Van Dijk would have a poor season.
Watching the Dutchman score and claim Man of the Match this week may have hit a sore spot, as Joy went after the Reds again following Slot’s guidance to a fifth consecutive win. He said (watch the full segment below):
“It was a ridiculous game, and at the end of the day, Liverpool were incredibly lucky. I do have to admit that this mentality they have, this determination they have, to never say die, to score late goals, it’s special. It shows you a championship-winning mentality.
“But the big question is, can they continue doing this? I’m on the edge right now, because for large parts of that game, I’m looking at Liverpool and thinking this team is so overrated. They’re disappointing defensively, they conceded another two goals. Offensively, they’ve not hit full cylinder, they are kinda in second, third gear.”
Although the 44-year-old raises some fair points – in a results-driven business, the only thing that matters right now is that Liverpool have a 100 per cent winning record for the season so far, meaning ifs, buts, and maybes can only hold so much weight. This was something Reds supporters made clear in reaction to the outspoken pundit.
“Everyone talking about how ‘lucky’ Liverpool are when we should actually talk about how unlucky they’ve been,” one X user replied. “Look at the game yesterday; Atletico’s first goal should have been disallowed for offside/obstructing Alisson’s view, and their second goal was a big deflection. The fact is, Liverpool deserved the win.” Elsewhere, a second added:
“Overrated, yet we can beat Atletico Madrid, Newcastle, Arsenal, all while not playing at our best. Yet another pundit who is just spouting crap without taking into context what happened in the last months: players have left, players have come. That’ll take time.”
While some rallied to call Joy a ‘clown’, and another branded him ‘utterly clueless’, others offered a more balanced outlook on the situation, with a third user commenting: “I don’t understand why a lot of people think having luck in sports is a bad thing,” as a fourth wrote: “They can only get better. They’ve got 5 players to bring into the squad, and they’re still winning games.”
Liverpool will be hoping for a far more straightforward outing in their next Premier League fixture after enduring five rollercoaster games that have already had fans’ hearts in their mouths this season. However, with the Merseyside derby at Anfield looming in Saturday’s lunchtime kickoff – a fixture that has produced more red cards than any other in the division’s history – another tense and chaotic affair could be just around the corner.
