Jamie Carragher couldn’t hide his fury as Liverpool’s Premier League season got off to the worst possible start on Sunday afternoon.If Reds fans though that the conclusion of a torrid 2025/26 campaign would give way to better things this time around, their faith turned out to be misplaced inside the first five minutes at St James’ Park today.That was how long it took Newcastle to open the scoring, with possession being turned over inside their half of the pitch and William Osula surging into so much space in front of him to charge forward and slip the ball in for Anthony Elanga to get in behind the visitors’ backline and dispatch his shot past Alisson Becker.Carragher fumes after early Newcastle goalCarragher had warned in the days leading up to the season starting that Liverpool had been far too easy to play through in midfield, and his worst fears were sadly realised once again inside the opening minutes on Tyneside.The Sky Sports pundit took to X straight after Elanga’s goal to rage: ‘LFC midfield all bombing forward – happened all pre season, madness!’(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)A familiar problem comes back to haunt Liverpool againThe ease with which opponents played through the middle against Liverpool last season was galling, to put it mildly, and it seems that nothing has been done over the summer to rectify that glaring issue in the Reds’ line-up.You’d think that the concession of a whopping 53 Premier League goals in 2025/26 would’ve prompted the Anfield hierarchy to prioritise the addition of a top-class defensive midfielder during the transfer window, which has been open since the start of June.Alas, here were are on 23 August with no signings made in that area of the pitch, and Lewis Steele has poured cold water over the prospect of a big-money move for Crystal Palace dynamo Adam Wharton in the final days of the window.Even amid the ongoing pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, the need for an elite number 6 remains pressing, and the task of signing one for a reasonable price between now and Tuesday week seems fanciful at best.Expect Iraola to have stern words with his team during the interval today, and also for Richard Hughes and the recruitment team over the next 24 hours as a familiar failing reared its ugly head once again this afternoon.You can view Elanga’s goal below, via @SkySportsPL on X:An electric start! Anthony Elanga gives Newcastle the lead inside 5 minutes! pic.twitter.com/8DYYFJ9i6F— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 23, 2026The post ‘Madness’ – Jamie Carragher fumes as familiar problem haunts Liverpool inside first 5 minutes appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.