THE OF ENGLAND

Their currency used to be goals.. lots of them.. but Reds’ deadly front three cannot buy a goal.. and Klopp is now worried that his main title rivals will cash in

MO SALAH’S words even before the frustrating draw with Manchester United were prophetic: It is a nightmare when I don’t score.

It was an almost joking comment, delivered when he was asked about Liverpool’s problems in recent weeks, with now just three points from their last four Premier League matches, and a single goal in those games.

But it speaks to the truth of the champions’ woeful form. After a compelling 7-0 victory at Crystal Palace on December 19, they have stumbled against struggling West Brom and Newcastle, lost at Southampton and drew a blank against United.

Most worrying of all for manager Jurgen Klopp is the lack of chances created. In those four games, they have mustered only 10 shots on target.

It is a collapse of cliff-edge proportions, and the situation looked especially dire against Premier League leaders United, with Salah and his usually devastating front-three partners Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino all clearly out of sorts.

It led to accusations from

Reds great

Graeme Souness of players who are beginning to show apprehension, and perhaps taking the easy way out. “For me, the front three, there is no sparkle, no real special moments from them,” said Souness (above).

“Firmino didn’t take part in the game a lot, Mane didn’t show. Salah didn’t skip past Luke Shaw once. There was an incident in the second half when he could’ve gone one-on-one with Shaw, but he chose to come in and take the easy option.

“I think that says a lot about his performance. Liverpool huffed and puffed, but nothing special. No one was skipping past a defender, committing the next defenders to come out and openings are there. David De Gea didn’t have any real saves.” In the extensive interview, Salah conceded that his side’s form has not been good enough, as they slipped from top of the table at Christmas, to fourth now… just a single point above fifth and being outside the Champions League places. With United unbeaten in the Premier League since November 1, a run of 12, and

Manchester City winning their last five on a run of nine league games unbeaten, it is already approaching crisis time for the Reds.

Salah knows it is not good enough. “Unfortunately, we have not done enough to win the last few games, but we can do better,” he said.

“We just have to take a few steps back and play our game, that’s it. I am happy as long as the team wins, that is the most important thing.

“When I score,

I can help the team and then I am even happier.

“When I do not score and the team does not win, it is a nightmare.”

While the focus is rightly on a sudden collapse in front of goal, even Souness suggested the problem could stem from further back, with a constantly changing central defence piling pressure on the rest of the team, and undermining confidence.

Souness said: “It’s a makeshift team. The makeshift defenders did a good job. But it affects the rest. I

think they got exposed as the game went on.” Salah agrees: “I think this is a tough season for everyone, but we are fighting hard to defend the title.

“We try our best in training and in the fight to win, and everyone is constantly hungry for more.

“We must handle the situation and continue. It is that, and not complaining, that will make us masters.”