Jose Enrique has taken shots at Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, and Trent Alexander-Arnold after Liverpool's 5-2 defeat to Real Madrid at Anfield. The Spaniard believes the trio are out of form and are not giving it their all.
Real Madrid stunned Liverpool on Tuesday night after winning the first leg at Anfield.
Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah scored to give the Reds a 2-0 lead inside the first 14 minutes, but the Spanish side hit back with five goals to take a 3-goal lead into the second leg at home.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Enrique claimed that the main problem at Anfield is not the failure to replace Sadio Mane. He 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."
However, Enrique believes the form of the trio is a bigger issue. He named Salah, Van Dijk, and Trent when he said:
"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."
What next for Liverpool after Real Madrid defeat?
Liverpool have a long way to go before they can think of a comeback against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
They face Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton, Manchester United, and Bournemouth in the Premier League before taking on Los Blancos in the second leg.
The Reds are out of the domestic cup competitions and are very likely to finish the season trophyless. Jurgen Klopp's side are not doing well in the league, as they are 8th in the table.
However, they have won their last two games in a convincing manner. Since the Reds are just seven points off fourth-place Tottenham with two games in hand, finishing in the top four is still on the cards for Klopp's side.