Slot is under criticism after Liverpool’s collapse against Saint-Germain

The end of the era of Egyptian star Mohamed Salah in Liverpool will not be quite as bright as he wanted it to be, after his team exited the Champions League in the quarter-finals at the hands of French club Paris Saint-Germain. The Reds’ problems will worsen this season on various fronts, raising question marks about the future of Dutch coach Arne Slot.

On Tuesday, star Ousmane Dembélé led his team, defending champion Saint-Germain, to renew its victory over Liverpool 2-0 in the second leg of the quarter-finals, by scoring both goals in the match, as Liverpool bid farewell to the competition for the second season in a row at the hands of the French capital team.

But the irony is that Liverpool’s exit last season came via penalty kicks and against a team that continued its path to winning the title. As for 12 months later, Saint-Germain was able to resolve the confrontation against Liverpool with complete ease, as it won 2-0 in the return match on Wednesday in the heart of Anfield, after beating it in the first leg by the same score in the “Parc des Princes”, without the Spanish coach Luis Enrique’s team needing to raise its level to the maximum limits.

After winning the Premier League title in Slot’s first season at the helm of the team, Liverpool deliberately spent 450 million pounds sterling (605 million US dollars) in the transfer market, which was supposed to move the team to another side, specifically imposing its dominance over English football and restoring the European throne that it sat on during the period of its former coach, the German Jurgen Klopp.

But the winds did not blow as Liverpool wanted, especially after its campaign this season began with the tragedy of the death of its Portuguese star, Diogo Jota, in a traffic accident on his way to join the team’s preparations for the start of the season.

In this context, the emotional impact of losing a dear teammate since then cannot be measured.

However, a disastrous season on the field put Slot’s position in jeopardy, and it already had repercussions on the team’s lineup.

For his part, Salah brought the curtain down on his career a year before the expiration of his two-year contract, which he had signed 12 months ago.
The Egyptian international had made angry statements towards his coach in December after he was excluded from the squad, before starting the two-legged matches against Saint-Germain from the bench.

Scottish Andy Robertson also announced his departure at the end of the season, leaving Dutchman Virgil van Dijk and Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker and Joe Gomez to remain the only remaining members of the Liverpool squad that won the Champions League title in 2019.

Liverpool occupies fifth place in the English Premier League, and all that remains for Slot’s team in the coming weeks is to fight to ensure a return to the Champions League next season.

Fortunately for him, with five places available to English clubs, and four points behind sixth-placed Chelsea, the chances of qualifying appear high.

But Sloat’s future at the head of the coaching staff remains in doubt.

Liverpool fans chanted the name of the team’s former Spanish midfield star, Xabi Alonso, during the team’s 0-4 loss to Manchester City in the FA Cup earlier this month.

Alonso, who left his position as coach of Real Madrid in January, is considered the most prominent candidate to take over the job if it is decided to end the Slot era, only one year after winning the English Premier League.