Former football legends criticized two Liverpool players after the "Reds" suffered a heavy defeat to Manchester City and exited the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Steve Nicol, a Liverpool legend, heavily criticized winger Mohamed Salah after his disappointing performance, missing several golden opportunities in Liverpool's 0-4 loss to Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals last night.
The 33-year-old Salah has struggled with form this season and showed another disappointing display on Saturday, missing early chances and having his penalty saved by Manchester City's goalkeeper James Trafford in the second half. Nicol admitted he was baffled by Salah's significant drop in form this season.
"This has never happened before. How do you go from last year's Player of the Year to this? I'll be blunt: right now, you seem like you don't know where the goal is," Nicol said.
Analyzing Salah's early missed chances, he added, "The truth is, he had plenty of time to control the ball and pick his shot, but his touch was terrible. His body position was all wrong."
"Even on the penalty, he didn't look up. Look at most players taking penalties today—they all watch the goalkeeper. The confidence you once had is completely gone," Nicol stated.
Meanwhile, former Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley questioned Virgil van Dijk's performance after the Dutch defender conceded a penalty and failed to mark properly in the match.
"Van Dijk also played poorly. The players who carry Liverpool on their shoulders in many ways turned out to be the two worst performers. Van Dijk's leadership, positioning, and defending were all subpar," Burley said.