Liverpool news: Mo Salah blamed for Reds problems and Steven Gerrard admits surprise
Liverpool may be reigning Premier League champions, but their defence of the title fizzled out before the turn of the year. Arne Slot's side have also struggled in the race for the top four and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup. However, they have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and the FA Cup.
While many of the Reds' stars have been below par this season, Mohamed Salah, as the club's talisman, has found himself on the receiving end of criticism perhaps more than most. However, the 33-year-old looked to have rolled back the yearswith a stunning strike in the Champions League against Galatasaray midweek.
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Yet his efforts have not changed the mind of a Liverpoolicon who has torn into the star. Elsewhere, another Anfield legend has expressed his surprise at a development surrounding Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Mo Salah blamedReds icon Graeme Souness believes Salah should end his Anfield career this summer, after blaming the Egyptian for the Reds' underwhelming season.
Salah has had a tricky season in front of goal, having scored just five times in the Premier League, and had a falling out with Slot at the end of last year, which has since been resolved. Explaining his stance to
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"When you get to that sort of 33-34 age area, it's either falling off a cliff, or it's a slow decline. I think Salah is the former. I went to see the very first game of the season, the Community Shield against Crystal Palace, and I was sitting next to my young son, I said, 'I don't know what's wrong with him?' And then I thought, maybe he needs half a dozen games to get up to speed.
"But he's never improved. His numbers tell you that. His numbers are way down, and he is the single biggest reason why Liverpool are having an indifferent season. Because within that group of players, there'll be some that are feeling the pain, some are feeling the negativity that's around the place, and they're not responding very well to it.
"And when you're in that position, you need big players to stand up and be counted. And I think that's been a bit of a shock to Liverpool supporters, the manager and coaching staff, that those guys have not done that."
Quizzed if the iconic winger should leave this summer, the three-time European Cup-winner replied: "Yes. His best is behind him now, there's no doubt about that.
"The first person to know that is yourself, and it happens to everyone. I don't see the same sparkle. I think if you're looking for the single biggest reason (for Liverpool’s shaky form), it's because he's not been getting the numbers.
"He's been for six, seven years the Liverpool go-to man. He has completely changed games when it wasn't going their way, and he has scored a ridiculous number of goals every season. He’s a great - a Liverpool great - but his best season is behind him."
Steven Gerrard's surpriseFormer Reds hero Gerrard has claimed that Trent Alexander-Arnold's England snub for this month's international break comes as a surprise. The Real Madrid ace was left out of Thomas Tuchel's 35-man group for the friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.
Alexander-Arnold hasn't played for his country since the 1-0 win over Andorra in June. Tino Livramento and Djed Spence were named as England's right-backs, with Reece James out injured.
Gerrard was asked about the right-back's exclusion on Saturday, and if Tuchel's decision had surprised him. He said: "Very much so.
"Listen, we’ve got some good options at right-back, Reece James is world class, I really like Livramento, I know he’s had a couple of injuries but he can play both sides. I understand the selection, but I just think, ‘is Trent among the best 35 players in this country?’ Of course he is.
"There's going to be certain games where England have to open the door, they might be against a low block where it's really frustrating, and Trent is one of these players who can come off the bench and just completely change the game with one pass, he's that level of a player.
"So I am surprised, and I'm disappointed for him. But there's a lot of other situations that you've got to take into consideration. How much has he played? Is he physically at his best? Is there stuff going on off the pitch? Is it where he (Tuchel) doesn't want a group of players where those who aren’t going to be in the XI that might be different people around the place…
"There's a lot that gets taken into consideration before you select a squad across a six-week period rather than for a one-off game."