Jose Enrique points finger of blame at Liverpool trio after Real Madrid defeat
Former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique has launched a scathing attack on a trio of first-team stars in the wake of the Reds' chastening 5-2 defeat against Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
The heavy defeat means that Liverpool's Champions League hopes are now hanging by a thread ahead of next month's return leg at the Bernabeu, with Jurgen Klopp's side needing to overturn a three-goal deficit in order to advance to the quarter-finals.
It was another defensive collapse from Liverpool that enabled the Spanish giants to run riot at Anfield. Speaking after the match, Enrique singled out Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold for criticism - as well as Reds goalscorer Mohamed Salah.
Enrique, who was speaking about Liverpool's wider struggles this season, told talkSPORT: "I don't think it's one problem, first of all, I think some of the players want everything, my honest opinion – the biggest one – is that they didn't really buy the players that they needed. You cannot let Sadio Mane [go], then buy Darwin [Nunez] and [Cody] Gakpo – players that still need to be made in the Premier League, they've been OK, but they are not Mane.
"Salah as well, he looks off completely, [Virgil] van Dijk looks off completely, Trent [Alexander-Arnold] has been really bad this season as well. I'm not just pointing out these players because it's been the whole team, but the truth is there are many world-class players in this team that have been performing that actually if he [Klopp] had options, he would bench them."
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Although Salah has struggled for form up until recent weeks, the 30-year-old has still clocked up 19 goals and nine assists in all competitions this term - a tally that now includes two goals in the Reds' last three games.
Join the debate! Do you agree with Enrique's verdict on Salah? Let us know here.
Jose Enrique slammed Mohamed Salah after the Reds' 5-2 defeat against Real Madrid (Sky Sports)Enrique went on to admit that Salah had been one of the better players on the night - but then doubled down on his criticism of the forward and insisted that Klopp should be scouring the market for somebody capable of replacing the Reds talisman, who also grabbed an assist after teeing up Darwin Nunez.
Enrique, who spent five years on Merseyside and often champions the club and its players on social media, continued: "Yesterday, Salah was really good, but I don't know what's been going on with him since he lost the final at the AFCON.
"He looks like another player completely, you just renewed his contract, you gave him one of the biggest salaries in the Premier League, and he's another player.
"I actually believe that they should buy someone to actually really compete to take his place right now."
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