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Wayne Rooney takes aim at Mo Salah again as he spells out major Liverpool issue

Liverpool endured another forgettable outing as they were well beaten at Manchester City with Mohamed Salah called out by Wayne Rooney for not doing enough defensively

Mo Salah endured another tough afternoon in Liverpool's loss at Man City

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Wayne Rooney has again taken aim at Mohamed Salah as he accused the Liverpool forward of not doing enough defensively with his team in the midst of a poor run of form.

The Reds were beaten for the fifth time in the Premier League after losing at Manchester City on Sunday. Across all competitions they've now lost seven of their last ten games with some ruling them out of the title race, whilst their Carabao Cup defence is already over.

Salah was prolific last year but has struggled for goals this term, albeit in a frontline that has been unable to fire regularly. The Egyptian has just four goals to his name but has previously been freed of some defensive duties.

That left Liverpool right-back Conor Bradley exposed up against City ace Jeremy Doku, who enjoyed a stellar afternoon at the Ethiad. The Belgian was named the Player of the Match, scoring a stunner, but Rooney believes Bradley should've had more help in containing him.

He said on Match of the Day: "Salah is in the team to score goals and create goals. He’s been one of the best players in the Premier League over the last six or seven years. But in big games, you have to double up.

"You have to get back and help your teammate. Conor Bradley was having a really tough game today, to be left on his own. Ryan Gravenberch was trying his best to help him and get over there, but then that leaves spaces in other positions. I think Salah has to come back and help his teammate."

Salah was unable to compensate in the final third as City's backline were able to keep the likes of him, Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz under control as they closed the gap on Arsenal and created some daylight between themselves and the champions, who can ill-afford any more slip ups if they have any hopes of retaining their title.

Conor Bradley faced a tough task trying to contain Jeremy Doku as Man City ran riot

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Rooney has already been critical of several aspects of Liverpool's game this season. Following their loss at Chelsea several weeks ago he raised concern over Salah's defensive work rate. The former player was adamant that his lack of influence in the final third was no longer enough and questioned him in effort areas.

He said: "When it's going well and you're scoring goals and winning games it's great and the team will put up with that but, over the last week, I would question his work ethic."

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