Former Liverpool player Jose Enrique has questioned the form of some of the club’s current superstars after their Champions League hammering against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
Liverpool look on the edge of a European Cup exit after their 2-5 Anfield anihilation against the current tournament holders after surrendering an early lead against Carlo Ancelotti’s men.
Mohamed Salah doubled Jurgen Klopp’s sides’ lead after strike partner Darwin Nunez first opened the scoring. Madrid produced a stunning comeback through the likes of Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema, with Enrique left unimpressed by a number of the club’s best players.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Enrique said: ‘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’s many world class players in this team that have been performing that actually, if he [Klopp] had options, he would bench them,’ he added.
Criticism of Liverpool’s underperformers comes after a season of struggles that see’s them virtually out of the running for the Premier League title and already eliminated from the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
However, improvements in recent top-flight encounters was meant to have seen them turn the corner before Tuesday’s European defeat.
Salah is Liverpool’s top scorer with 19 goals in all competitions and has been one of their star players in recent seasons of outstanding success.
The Egyptians exploits earned him a lucrative new contract worth nearly £400k-per-week, but Enrique wants more from the 30-year-old.
‘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,’ said Enrique.
‘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,’ he added.