Slot must ask himself deep Liverpool question as sad Salah truth emerges

CommentsSportopinionPaul Gorst Liverpool FC correspondent05:00, 11 Mar 2026Updated 08:19, 11 Mar 2026Intensity, to paraphrase the old saying, used to be Liverpool's identity. Now? It's much harder to best define this current iteration.

Are they a wonderfully gifted attacking outfit whose Achilles' Heel lies squarely at the back?

Are they are a creatively stunted but defensively durable side capable of landing big results by keeping it tight?

Is their real strength in the middle of the pitch with hard-running machines giving real power to the engine room?

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It's fair to say this current Liverpool ticks none of those boxes and for a club who plundered a remarkable £450m into new recruits last summer, it must be hugely concerning how much they have dropped off since last year.

Twelve months ago, the Reds were streaking clear in the Premier League en route to an April clinching of their 20th title, with four games to spare. It was supposed to usher in a bright new era under Arne Slot but this season has lurched from one problem to the next.

Slot will point to the absence of Alexander Isak and Conor Bradley as mitigation but even the ongoing unavailability of a £125m striker doesn't excuse or explain this ongoing malaise.

Of course, not having a player of Isak's rare talent on the bench is hampering what the head coach is able to do during games and the illness to Federico Chiesa was untimely but another defeat leaves Slot facing up to more questions.

The first should centre around exactly what this Liverpool team's identity is.

Mohamed Salah struggles continue

Two goals against Wolves might have been enough of a flicker to spark Mohamed Salah into life on the big stage once more.

But the most unproductive season of the legendary Egyptian's Liverpool career goes on.

Given his exploits in a Reds shirt, Salah may feel, with some justification, that his ordinary campaign should be hidden by others stepping up to the plate.

But on a night where he wrote his name into the record books yet again, the 33-year-old won't reflect on his 81st outing in the Champions League for this club with any fondness.

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Despite overtaking Jamie Carragher as Liverpool's outright appearance holder in this tournament, in all its guises, Salah was unable to add another record by becoming the first African player to reach the 50-goal mark in the Champions League.

Hooked for Jeremie Frimpong as the visitors chased an equaliser, this was a night to forget for Salah.

In truth, it's becoming a season to forget and if this is to be his last at Anfield, there appears to be no raging against the dying of the Liverpool light.

It was understandable that Slot spoke of "bad deja vu" at full-time here. This 1-0 reverse bore many of the same hallmarks as September's group stage defeat, when an early concession and a big decision that went against Konate condemned the Reds to defeat.

This time out, at least, Liverpool have a second bite of the cherry and Anfield will be expected to be just as important a factor in the proceedings as Galatasaray's Rams Park was here.

'Welcome to Hell', the banner in the home end proclaimed before kick-off. It never quite got that bad for Slot and his players but the Anfield faithful will be asked to be similarly unwelcoming next Wednesday, if only toward the Galatasaray players.

Aided by the fact there will be no supporters travelling from Turkey on account of events at Juventus in the previous round, it will have to be one of those 'famous European nights' in L4 to add another comeback to the history books.

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"The second leg will be at our home and that's definitely an advantage for us," said captain Virgil van Dijk with a post-match soundbite that needs to sound as much like a warning as it does a fact right now. "Everything is in our hands when we're at home. We'll be playing there to advance to the next round."

However, you have to look back nearly four years for the last time Liverpool won a Champions League knockout tie at Anfield.

Not since Villarreal were downed in the semi-finals, in April 2022, have the Reds beaten a visiting side at home in Europe's premier competition in its knockout form.

It's a surreal fact that betrays the ground's enduring, almost mythical reputation for those sorts of occasions. This statistic needs to be altered next week.