Adrian Durham has suggested Liverpool need a re-think about Jurgen Klopp and their front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
The Reds were dumped out of the Champions League on Wednesday night in unceremonious fashion by Real Madrid after failing to test the Spaniards in a goalless draw at Anfield.
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Klopp’s side paid the price for a disastrous 45 minutes in the Spanish capital last week as that 3-1 quarter-final first-leg defeat essentially put them out.
They created enough chances to have clawed back the two-goal deficit but goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was hardly extended as yet another wasteful performance from their forwards proved costly with 15 attempts producing just four on target.
Injuries to the likes of Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez have undoubtedly hindered the Premier League champions this season, yet their lack of an attacking threat is also evident.
Salah has 19 goals in the league this season, while Mane and Firmino have 13 between them. Speaking on Drivetime on Thursday afternoon, Durham suggested the impact Klopp is having on this squad is dwindling due to how much he asks of his players.
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“I was watching the game intently last night and Firmino was really poor,” Durham said.
“It was like he turned into Nicky Struggles mate. I mean, he was struggling up there and he has been there for some time.
“He’s been there since before Klopp. So he is 29 now, Salah is 29 in June and he has been there for four years.
“Mane is 29 already, desperate for the Ballon d’Or, he’s been there five years. All three of them, are they coming to an end now? That’s what I am thinking.
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“Have they all had enough? When you think about Jurgen Klopp as well, he has been there six years nearly. The way he plays football, the high intensity, that can only keep going at that level for so long.
“I am amazed it lasted as long as it did and when you think about the times we are in; if your life is 100 miles per hour and it is helter-skelter and there are things flying at you and past you, life is going 1000 miles an hour.
“And then you have Jurgen Klopp wanting you to be 1000 miles an hour on the pitch as well – all the time, every game, home and away – and then we get to this time when the world stopped.
They don’t get the energy from the crowd and every single talks about, whether positive or negative, then I just think Jurgen Klopp speaking to the players, does that seem like a bit of white noise?
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“Have they kind off to it because the world has changed? It is unfortunate, but they couldn’t sustain that level of intensity for that long and now a re-think is needed up front.
“And maybe for Klopp a re-think is needed as well.”
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