Liverpool’s painful **4-1 home defeat**to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League was the latest setback to suggest that the Reds may soon need to prepare for a future without Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Alisson Becker, club legend Jamie Carragher has said.
While Alisson was absent on Tuesday night due to illness - having previously missing eight games this season through injury - both Van Dijk and Salah have been ever-present for Liverpool during a dismal run of form in all competitions.
The Reds have lost nine of their last 12 matches - their most defeats over a 12-game period since November 1953 to January 1954 (also nine) - while they have now lost three consecutive games in all tournaments by a margin of 3+ goals for the first time since December 1953.
Despite spending around £450m on new signings in the summer, Liverpool's aging spine continues to be exposed; error-strewn Van Dijk conceded a penalty for handball inside six minutes against PSV, while Salah was ineffective once again, failing to score or assist for the 11th time this season.
Manager Arne Slot is coming under increased pressure, but former Liverpool defender Carragher has heavily criticised the players for not stepping up and has questioned what the future holds for some of those “legendary” stars.
‘Van Dijk’s not superhuman’ and ‘Salah’s legs have gone’
"This is maybe a snapshot of the future of Liverpool when Mo Salah moves on, Virgil van Dijk moves on, and Alisson moves on," Carragher said on CBS Sports.
"Liverpool in 2018, under [Jurgen] Klopp, starts this journey of being a great team and then seven years later Slot comes in.
"The catalyst for Liverpool at the very start of that run was Alisson, Van Dijk and Salah. Alisson's injured a lot now, so he doesn't play so much. But you're watching Van Dijk now, not the same player, and Salah looks like his legs have gone.
"I don't like criticising them and I think some of the criticism of them this season as players has been harsh. You're always looking for your leaders in your team to step up when things are not going well.
"Now I've been critical of Salah off the pitch. I want him to come out and do an interview tonight and speak to the Liverpool supporters about what the players are going to do, what's going on in the dressing room, giving the supporters hope that things are going to improve.
“I don't like criticising them on the pitch, because they're absolutely legendary what they've done, and the legs have just gone, especially with Salah.
"Van Dijk now can't help other players. He needs help himself, and that just means that he's a normal centre-back, like I was at one stage, so maybe he's not superhuman right now, but they've been that good for the football club.
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“Not acceptable for Liverpool Football Club,” says Carragher
Carragher has demanded more from Liverpool’s other players, insisting that they should not be so reliant on the like of Van Dijk and Salah to “carry” them during this difficult period, while it is “inevitable” that Slot’s future will be questioned.
He added: "I look at some of the others. Step up. Can you only play well when they play well, or they carry you? Their seasons last season were off the scale, and everybody else enjoyed that win in the league, and they're all league champions.
"They got it on the CV, and great, but when they're not there, where are they? Where are the others? Where are the other players? So that's why I get angry about talking about the manager, but it's inevitable and something could happen.
"But in terms of the players and the way they're performing now, that is, I mean, not acceptable for Liverpool Football Club.
"I thought this a little bit last season, are some of them good enough for Liverpool to win the biggest trophies? We saw them at Newcastle in the Carabao Cup. We saw them against PSG away from home last season. Woeful performance and they've been carried by some of the greatest players the club have ever had."
Liverpool will now prepare for three successive Premier League fixtures against West Ham United, Sunderland and Leeds United, and will look to return to winning ways when they travel to the London Stadium to face the former on Sunday.