Steven Gerrard's damning Liverpool theory after Mohamed Salah statement - 'Identity is gone'

Gerrard

Steven Gerrard believes Mohamed Salah's bombshell statement is incredibly damning of Arne Slot and questioned whether he is speaking for himself or on behalf of the Liverpool dressing room. In his post on social media,

Salah said Liverpool must return to being a 'heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear' after 'crumbling' to a defeat against Aston Villa on Friday night.

The forward has never been afraid to speak his mind, and Liverpool won the Premier Leaguelast season after Slot succeeded Jurgen Klopp, who was known for playing a high-octane approach.

So the forward’s withering assessment of the Reds' style of play has been seen as a thinly veiled attack on the under-fire Slot.

And Gerrard believes that the 33-year-old, who will call time on his Anfield career at the end of the season, has sent a message to the outside world that things aren’t right in the Liverpooldressing room.

Gerrard

“Wow. Listen, that is extremely interesting,"

"Mo Salah doesn't really speak much, and he doesn't tweet, and he certainly doesn't tweet like that.

“So I think that he's sending a message to the outside that things in that Liverpool dressing room are not right: the identity's gone and it's really hurting him to see it in front of his own eyes.

“I'm surprised of the timing. One game to go, his last game for Liverpool.

“You guys know, you've been involved in the media: he very rarely speaks, he's done interviews lately because he's obviously bringing the curtain down on an incredible Liverpool career.

“But that is quite damning to the Liverpoolmanager and the staff in terms of where this team's at. That's my opinion on that.

“Is he speaking off his own back for the sake of everyone else in the dressing room? It's strange, it's unusual.

“He's going to be doing a load of media around his last game, I'm sure. I'm really looking forward to the coming days because that's unusual for a Liverpool player, and it's unusual for Mo Salah."

Defeat to Unai Emery’s side at Villa Park was Liverpool's 19th defeat of the season in all competitions, and their hopes of playing in next season’s Champions League remain in the balance.

And Gerrard admits that the manner in which the Reds were swept aside in the Midlands left him feeling hurt.

Gerrard said: "Crumbling is a strong word. It’s quite damning, the timing. It’s unusual coming from Mo. The pressure’s on the players and the pressure’s on the manager because it hasn’t been nowhere near good enough.

"The performance last night was terrible, it was awful, it was difficult to watch from start to finish and it hurt me watching Liverpool last night. I don’t normally say that.

"It was a tough 90 minutes and they got what they deserved. Villa were better all over the pitch.

“There was no fight, no passion, no pattern of play, no connection, they’re not moving around the pitch together, individuals were miles off what I know they can perform at.

“It hurt me to watch Liverpool last night, they were nowhere near good enough. Let’s finish on that note."