Salah just hasn't looked like his usual brilliant self since returning from injury, but his team needs him at his best at Goodison Park

Some of the most memorable moments of Jurgen Klopp’s sensational spell as Liverpool manager have come in European competition, so it was jarring to see his final continental campaign end with a whimper. It just didn’t feel right. The narrative was all wrong. Win or lose, a stellar showdown in Dublin - rather than a lame last-eight exit in Bergamo - would have made for a far more fitting finale.

Mohamed Salah copped plenty of criticism for his role in Liverpool’s tame Europa League elimination. The Egyptian had given Liverpool the lead just seven minutes into the second leg of their quarter-final clash with Atalanta, but he had also wasted a glorious chance to really breathe new life into a tie that the Italians appeared to have killed off at Anfield. For many observers, Salah rather personified the lethargic Liverpool we have seen in recent weeks, but Klopp unsurprisingly jumped to the defence of a man that has rescued the Reds on so many occasions over the past few years.

“I’m not particularly concerned,” he told reporters. “That’s what strikers do. We have to go through it, he has to go through it. He is one of the most experienced players in the squad. It’s not that Mo didn’t miss chances before in his life, that’s part of the game… I won’t make a big story of it.”

But Salah's slump is now a major a talking point, as there is a very real risk that Liverpool's Premier League title tilt could end as meekly as their Europa League bid.



Liverpool find themselves in a very peculiar predicament. They weren’t expected to challenge for the Premier League title when the season began - and yet now it would feel like a major letdown if they don’t win it. Klopp’s imminent exit is the main reason why, of course. From the moment the beloved Liverpool manager announced his shock decision to step down at the end of the season, the question on every fan’s lips was whether the German's remarkable reign would end on a high.

The Carabao Cup represented the best possible start to the swansong, with Klopp rating it as “the most special” success of his career because of the circumstances surrounding the game, with the injury-ravaged Reds beating Chelsea thanks in no small part to the contribution of an exciting crop of kids. It was obvious that evening at Wembley that no matter how the remainder of the campaign unfolded, Klopp would leave Liverpool in rude health.

However, everyone connected with the club was still hoping for a fairy-tale farewell. They were desperate for Klopp to bow out by winning the second Premier League title he so richly deserves. The dream could yet become reality, too, with Liverpool locked in a three-way battle at the top of the table with Arsenal and Manchester City. Much, though, will depend on Salah, the other Liverpool legend who could well quit the club this summer.

Just like Klopp, Salah's legacy is already secure. Whenever he leaves Anfield, he will do so as a Kop icon and a Premier League legend. But the fear ahead of Wednesday’s Merseyside derby is that he, just like Klopp’s Liverpool, is running out of steam at the worst possible moment.