'Not good to watch but still in the hunt' — and more

We asked for your views after Celtic's 2-1 win at Aberdeen which moved them up to second in the Scottish Premiership.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Kev: With 16 and 13 points respectively from the last six league matches, Motherwell and Celtic are the form teams in the run-in. Rangers have only gained 10/18. Viljami Sinisalo and Benjamin Arthur have strengthened Celtic's defence. Benjamin Nygren is a constant goal threat and James Forrest continues to lead by example. Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda remain key players and should start against Rangers. The league and cup double is there to be won.

John: It's the same theme every game. Grinding out results. It's not good to watch but still in the hunt. I also think it's about time to leave Meada out the squad. He is just an empty jersey.

Hugh: Our main deficiency remains a natural striker, the stats clearly show we have not scored enough goals and have the poorest goals total of the top four teams. Our board have had three transfer windows to sort this issue out and have failed to do so yet no one has been accountable or held responsible for this glaring and obvious failure.

Ian: I don't even know how we are still in this title race. Extraordinary. If Martin O'Neill can win the title this year, what a legend.

Eck: Another poor performance by Celtic. Week in, week out this team are playing well below standard. The only players that have played consistently well are Kieran Tierney, Nygren and Forrest when he gets a chance. Martin has done his best with a poor team, the Celtic board should try and get Henrik Larsson or Scott Brown when Martin finishes up and invest in a decent striker and central defender.

Benny: At this stage of the season it's about getting three points, however Celtic again were lacklustre and huffed and puffed their way to a win. There is no cutting edge to this side and they are far too slow in the build-up play to win games convincingly. Tomas Cvancara up front was starved of service but his overall game was poor and his movement slow. Sebastian Tounekti continues to frustrate by not being direct enough. Thankfully Nygren saved the game with another valuable goal.

Gerry: A must-win game, well won. This result after the draw against Rangers shows how important that one point was. We move above Rangers and now can concentrate on chasing Hearts. Nygren scores another crucial goal too.

Slow and Predictable Liverpool Performance Raises Questions

Liverpool’s season has contained moments of flair and dominance, yet the defeat at Molineux served as a reminder that this side can still drift into patterns that are slow, predictable and ultimately costly.

Wolves seized on those weaknesses to claim a dramatic 2–1 victory, striking late after Liverpool had finally shown signs of life. The result left frustration hanging in the air, not only among supporters but within the dressing room itself.

Captain Virgil van Dijk described Liverpool’s display as “slow, predictable and sloppy”, a verdict that cut through the usual post-match pleasantries. It was not the language of excuses or deflection; it was the blunt assessment of a side that knows it is capable of far better.

Liverpool’s problem was not simply the defeat. Teams lose matches. It was the manner in which the game unfolded. Wolves’ first real attempt on goal arrived deep into the contest and still ended with Liverpool chasing the game. When Mohamed Salah eventually equalised, it seemed the visitors might salvage something. Instead, stoppage time brought another familiar sting.

For Liverpool, the pattern is becoming uncomfortable.

Slot Accepts Van Dijk Verdict

Head coach Arne Slot did not attempt to soften the captain’s criticism. Instead, he accepted it.

“So ‘slow’ or ‘predictable’ are words that I can understand [Van Dijk] uses,” Slot admitted after the match.

That admission is significant. Managers often defend their players publicly, particularly after a frustrating defeat. Slot chose a different path, acknowledging that Liverpool had not played with the urgency expected of them.

He did, however, note that there were improvements as the game wore on.

“The second half was better; still not great, but better. Created more and in added time – or just before added time – I think we were twice very close from chances to score the 2-1.”

Liverpool’s attacking sequence late in the game illustrated both promise and frustration in equal measure. Salah drove forward with intent, options opening around him.

“Mo was dribbling and had on the left and the right two players open, but the ball was intercepted by the defender, and the Virgil header.”

Moments like these underline the difference between opportunity and outcome. Liverpool had the openings but failed to convert them, leaving Wolves with the final word.

Recurring Late Goals Hurt Liverpool

If one statistic tells the story of Liverpool’s season, it is this: another match lost in stoppage time.

The winner for Wolves ensured Liverpool have now conceded decisive late goals multiple times during the campaign. Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Bournemouth and Manchester City had already delivered similar blows. Add this defeat and the pattern becomes undeniable.

Slot acknowledged the cruel irony of the situation.

“Those are chances and the one we concede is not even a chance, and that is what has happened so many times to us this season,” he said.

“That it happens in added time might be a coincidence maybe, although it happened so many times, but we hardly gave away a chance today. We gave away one chance but conceded two.”

From a tactical standpoint, this raises serious questions. Liverpool have not always been overrun defensively. In fact, in several of these matches they have limited opponents to very few opportunities. Yet the margins have proved ruthless.

Slow build-up play, predictable attacking phases and occasional lapses in concentration have combined to create an uncomfortable narrative.

For a club accustomed to controlling matches, that is a troubling shift.

FA Cup Rematch Offers Immediate Response

Football rarely allows time for self-pity. Liverpool will return to Molineux just 72 hours after this defeat, this time in the FA Cup.

In many ways, it presents the perfect opportunity for a response. Another slow and predictable performance would reinforce the concerns raised by Van Dijk and acknowledged by Slot. A sharper display, however, could reset the narrative entirely.

Cup competitions often hinge on momentum and mentality. Liverpool must show both. The squad has quality, experience and attacking firepower. What it needs now is clarity and urgency.

Slot’s honesty after the defeat suggests he understands the task ahead. Recognising problems is one thing; solving them is quite another.

Liverpool’s season remains alive across multiple fronts, but performances like this cannot become the norm. Slow starts, predictable patterns and late concessions are habits that must be broken quickly.

Otherwise, the verdict delivered at Molineux will linger far longer than a single defeat.

Shane Lowry’s collapse at the Cognizant Classic is one that can change the entire trajectory of his season.

With three holes to go, Lowry looked to be cruising to his first individual PGA Tour victory since 2019. He had a three-shot lead and had played all weekend impeccably. Then, disaster struck.

He hit the water with a three iron on 16 on his way to a double bogey, then sliced his tee shot into the water again on the par three 17. The Bear Trap, designed by Jack Nicklaus at PGA National, had claimed another victim.

Lowry lost the tournament by two shots, a five-shot swing over three holes. And how he responds to that will define his season.

No one knows how to rebound from bad results better than his good friend, Rory McIlroy, and the grand slam winner gave Lowry some key advice this week to help the Irishman bounce back.

Rory McIlroy reminded Shane Lowry about his 2014 season

Until last year, 2014 was undoubtedly the best season of McIlroy’s career. He won two majors, had three PGA Tour wins, and won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. But it could have gone very differently.

At the then-called Honda Classic at PGA National, McIlroy also fell into the Bear Trap. He blew a two-shot lead on the back nine before losing in a playoff to Russell Henley.

McIlroy rebounded to have an all-time great season, and he reminded Lowry of that in the week. Speaking before the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Northern Irishman said, “I played golf with him on Monday morning. He was fine. He was in good spirits.

“I reminded him, I double-bogeyed the 16th at PGA National in 2014 to lose the tournament. And I went on to win two majors that year. So I was trying to, yeah, like, look, it’s one event, it was two bad holes, two bad swings.

“It doesn’t mean that the rest of the year’s going to be bad. Again, I had a horrible finish there in 2014 and ended up going on to have one of the best years of my career. So I just reminded him of that.”

It’s exactly what you’d want to hear if you were Lowry, so hopefully it gives him confidence heading into one of the most difficult events of the season at Bay Hill.

Shane Lowry learning from other sportspeople after Cognizant Classic

Lowry spoke about the Cognizant Classic before the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and revealed that he has been getting calls from other sportspeople who have given their own experiences to him.

He said to Chantel McCabe, “It’s been tough, I’m not going to lie. Sunday night, I didn’t sleep at all, really. You go through all the scenarios in your head and the regrets you have, but you know, I’m very fortunate, I’ve got a great support network around me and I had some amazing people reach out to me after the 24 hours after that.

“People I look up to. I got one particular phone call off an Irish sportsperson who I really admire. He was very, very kind to me. I’m friendly with him and I know him pretty well, but to hear other people who have been in that situation, to hear their thoughts on it and learn from it is the biggest thing.

“Obviously, it’s very disappointing. It’s so hard to win on the PGA Tour, and I had a tournament in my hands, and I let it go. I’m going to have regrets over it in the days after that, but that’s where we put ourselves on the PGA Tour, playing on the best tour in the world on the toughest golf courses. I put myself out there, and unfortunately, I didn’t deliver.

“Hopefully, I can keep putting myself out there. I think that’s all I can do. If I keep putting myself there and try to focus on the positives out there. I think I played for a lot of the tournament, some of the best golf my whole career. I felt so in control out there, and one bad swing took it all away from me.

“But it is what it is, and we move on onwards and upwards.”

It’s extraordinary that Lowry has been able to recover mentally from the loss in less than a week, and hopefully, that puts him in good standing for a good result this week.

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