Many Liverpool players came in for criticism after the 2-1 defeat away to Chelsea, with one individual producing “another dire performance” for the Reds.
Neville slams "absolutely useless" Liverpool attack
The Premier League champions have been brought crashing back down to reality, losing three times in a week and being defeated in stoppage time away to both Crystal Palace and Chelsea.
Reflecting on Liverpool’s performance after Saturday’s game at Stamford Bridge, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville didn’t hold back in his criticism of the attack, with various individuals misfiring.
“I thought after they scored, I was really disappointed in their level of performance. A lot has been made of Liverpool’s defensive work and rightly so, but that’s not why they’ve lost this game. They’ve lost this game because in the last 15-20 minutes, their creative players, their players in the final half of the pitch, the midfield players and the forwards were absolutely useless.
“They were giving the ball away like you wouldn’t believe. Gakpo, Salah, the wastage. Wirtz, not knowing how to get into a game in the last 15 minutes when it was there for the taking and just sort of ended up almost marking Caicedo. I thought their front players were terrible. Salah is sublime.
“How can you criticise the consistency and reliability and brilliance of him, but some of the decisions of him today, when he comes inside and you think he should pass it or you think he should do something better with it, and his finishing was poor.”
It has been a concerning week for Liverpool, with too many players well below their best, and one Reds hero has been lambasted after his showing against the Blues.
Liverpool star slammed for "another dire performance"
Writing on X, Statman Dave slammed Mohamed Salah’s “dire” display for Liverpool against Chelsea, with the Reds legend having the fewest touches of any outfield player to feature for the whole game.
Salah’s form is a definite cause for concern, with the 33-year-old seemingly no longer possessing the blistering pace that he did, making it easier for full-backs in one-on-one situations.
That said, the more troubling aspect of his game is his general use of the ball, with too many passes going astray and his finishing away to Chelsea horribly erratic.
Salah has overcome slumps before, but the fact that he is now well into his 30s means that the voices are only going to be louder when it comes to writing him off.
He still has a huge amount to offer Liverpool, but if his performances don’t improve immeasurably after the international break, there may have to be genuine talk about him potentially being past his prime.
