Liverpool will spend the international break reflecting on a week where their treble dreams were downgraded to a quest for a single trophy.
Arne Slot’s hopes of landing a first major trophy of his Liverpool reign were dashed by Newcastle United at Wembley on Sunday afternoon, as the Magpies ended their decades-long trophy drought with a 2-1 victory in the Carabao Cup final.
This defeat came hot on the heels of Tuesday night’s Champions League exit, as the Reds were sent crashing out of Europe following a penalty shootout defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
Jamie Carragher’s fear as he defends Mohamed Salah of Liverpool
Slot and his side will now focus on getting over the line in the Premier League, where they currently enjoy a 12-point lead over Arsenal with nine games left to play.
But the current international break will give time for reflection on what has gone wrong over the past week, with one former Reds favourite refusing to blame Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah for Sunday’s defeat, despite the Egyptian having a quiet game at Wembley.
Instead, ex-Anfield defender and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher pointed to a bigger issue.
“It was probably one of the worst performances I’ve seen from Liverpool in a cup final,” Carragher – who FourFourTwo ranked at No.18 on our list of the greatest Liverpool players ever – said on Sky Sports. “But they’ve given so much this season and they’ve lost one league game. It’s hard to be too critical but it has shone a light on areas where Liverpool still need to improve.
“I think the lack of pace in attack is glaring. And I almost feel a little bit sorry for Mohamed Salah. He took a bit of criticism after the two Paris Saint-Germain games, against possibly the best left-back in the world Mendes, who was fantastic, he didn’t do too much and he wasn’t great today.
“But he doesn’t get help from the other attackers. This isn’t like under Jurgen Klopp where [Sadio] Mane or [Roberto] Firmino could bail them out of trouble. The other attackers Liverpool have got are good players but they’re not great players.
“They’ve relied on him [Salah] too much, so I don’t want to see too much criticism of Mo Salah over this last week. What it’s shone a light on is that Liverpool need to go out and buy two attackers – not as squad players, but possibly to play alongside Mo Salah, hopefully, next season.
“I’ve been excited thinking it looks like Liverpool are going to win the league and there is still lots to improve – and I think they will in the summer.”
Next up for Liverpool is an Anfield Merseyside derby against Everton on April 2, as Slot’s men look to earn the 16 points needed across their final nine games to guarantee the title.
