18/05/2026

SPORTS MONDAY | MAY 18, 2026

30

Salah admits Reds ‘crumbled’ Liverpool must return to heavy metal football, says Mo

Ű BY JACK RATHBORN

M OHAMED SALAH (pic) has claimed Liverpool “crumbled” again after a heavy defeat to Aston Villa left Champions League football in doubt heading into the final round of Premier League fixtures. Villa beat the Reds 4-2 on Saturday to overtake Arne Slot’s side and leave the Dutch coach under huge pressure ahead of next season’s final game. Liverpool are four points ahead of Bournemouth, but should the Reds fail to win the final game of the campaign against Brentford and the Cherries win the final two games, there is a risk they could miss out on Champions League football for the 2026/27 season. And Salah has posted a cutting statement on the

be a club that means a great deal to me and to my family. I want to see it succeed for long after I have moved on. “As I’ve always said, qualifying to next sea son’s Champions League is the bare mini mum and I will do everything I can to make that happen.” In calling for a return to the high-octane approach of former manager Klopp, Salah appeared to criticise Slot by saying their iden tity under the German, who left in 2024, must be “recovered and kept for good”. Dutchman Slot said last week that he has “every reason to believe” he will remain in charge at Anfield despite a disappointing season, and the club’s hierarchy have not indicated that they are consider ing replacing him this summer. But fan discontent only contin ued to grow after the 4-2 loss to Aston Villa – their 19th defeat of the season – with many supporters in the away end leaving before full-time at Villa Park.

state of the club, while referencing Jurgen Klopp’s famous brand of “heavy metal foot ball”. “I have witnessed this club go from doubt ers to believers, and from believers to cham pions,” Salah said. “It took hard work and I always did everything I could to help the club get there. “Nothing makes me prouder than that. Us crumbling to yet another defeat this season was very painful and not what our fans deserve. “I want to see Liverpool go back to being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear and back to being a team that wins tro phies. “That is the football I

In addition, the post has been liked by teammates Andrew Robertson, Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, Jeremie Frimpong, Wataru Endo, teen age Italian defender Giovanni Leoni and Harvey Elliott, who is currently on loan at Aston Villa. Former captain Jordan Henderson, defender Trent Alexander-Arnold and forward Roberto Firmino, key players during Klopp’s tenure, have also shown support for Salah’s words. Reds left-back Robertson, who will also leave the club this summer, wrote similarly on Instagram : “A performance which sums up our season. “A long way short of the levels of this club and what you rightly expect of us.” – The Independent/ Agencies

6132/2026

17/05/2026 (SUN)

know how to play and that is the identity that needs to be recovered and kept for good. It cannot be negotiable and everyone that joins this club should adapt to it. “Winning some games here and there is not what Liverpool should be about. All teams win games. “Liverpool will always

0173 2460 7978

'UDZ 'DWH 6XQ

'UDZ 1R

9192 0452 9124 3781 8807

0001 2224 9685 9043 2312

6533 7077 6217 1528 3958

2460 9328 1620 4090 2196

Below Salah’s social media post, Liverpool teammates Curtis Jones and Hugo Ekitike commented with applauding and hand shake emojis respec tively.

6,136,442.48

0173 2460 0173

7978 7978 2460

0173 0173 2460

7978 7978 2460

256,005.20

6

50

0173 2460 7978 HORSE

50

50 50 50

'2* +256( +256(

1 0 3 7 7 0 3 7 7 3 7 7 7 7

Turmoil at Anfield?

5 9 1 9 5 8 5 0 4 3

STEVEN GERRARD has questioned whether Mohamed Salah was speaking on behalf of the Liverpool dressing room when he delivered a withering assessment of his side’s style of play. Salah dropped a bombshell statement yesterday in which he claimed the Reds need to “recover their identity” and described his side’s form as “crumbling” and “very painful” to watch. And while Gerrard questioned whether the forward was speaking for himself or on behalf of his teammates, he does believe Salah was sending a message to the outside world that things aren’t right in the Liverpool dressing room. “Wow. Listen, that is extremely interest ing,” he told TNT Sports . “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 Liverpool manager 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. Crumbling is a strong word. It’s quite damn ing.” Gerrard admitted that the manner in which the Reds were swept aside by Aston Villa left him feeling hurt. “The performance was terrible, it was awful, it was difficult to watch from start to finish and it hurt me. 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. “They were nowhere near good enough.” – Express Newspapers

7 9 3 2 8 9 9 3 2 8 9 3 2 8 9 2 8 9

7 9 3 2 8 7 9 3 2 7 9 3 7 9

8 9

1 4

6 18 37 58

31,609,660.47

50 +66% ' - 50 - 50 ZRQ RQ

13 24 28 38 42 44

8,582,048.34

3 6 10 19 24 50 40

2,998,827.56

100,837.38