If Liverpool fail to beat Galatasaray at Anfield in the Champions League next week, some serious questions are going to be raised about Arne Slot's position in the dugout and the futures of more than a few first-team superstars on the pitch.
Alexis Mac Allister was quizzed on his contract situation, out of a deal in about 15 months, but the Argentine midfielder was quick to respond to reporters and stress that he is in no rush to make any big decisions.
Of course, Liverpool's Champions League fate hangs in the balance, and Anfield has managed to overturn a deficit or two in its time, but the overarching performance of this Liverpool team has been poor all season, and confidence in their ability to secure something special before summer is low.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot-2
Individual errors have continually pegged the Reds back, and Ibrahima Konate was culpable for another mistake-filled display in Istanbul.
Konate suffers another error-filled game
Konate has been one of the biggest and most contentious talking points at Liverpool this season, at the epicentre of Liverpool's disastrous losing run earlier in the season.
He's recovered over the past several months, perhaps even outshining Virgil van Dijk on a number of occasions of late, but the 26-year-old continues to leave a lot to be desired, and he fell back into a lesser state against the Turkish giants.
Whether Slot decides to draft Joe Gomez into central defence at the weekend, against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, remains to be seen, but there's no question that Galatasaray will be raring to go next Wednesday, and any mistakes could prove fatal in the quest to turn the deficit around.
A humiliating failure to clear danger twice in the same sequence nearly cost Liverpool dearly, and would have made next week's return leg difficult indeed.
Liverpool Player Ratings vs Galatasaray
Player
(GK) Giorgi Mamardashvili
(RB) Joe Gomez
(CB) Ibrahima Konate
(CB) Virgil van Dijk
(LB) Milos Kerkez
(CM) Ryan Gravenberch
(CM) Alexis Mac Allister
(RW) Mohamed Salah
(AM) Dominik Szoboszlai
(LW) Florian Wirtz
(CF) Hugo Ekitike
Konate will need to have his wits about him against Victor Osimhen and Co, but there's another of Slot's trusted lieutenants who shouldn't start on Merseyside. It would be a bold call.
Liverpool superstar is becoming a big problem for Slot
It's never nice to watch an ageing superstar lose the influence that came so readily to them across many illustrious years for a football club.
It's even more agonising to watch when that superstar is Mohamed Salah.
Liverpool in action against Galatasaray
Liverpool's focal point in attack for so many years, there's no more hiding from the fact that Salah is no longer the player that he was, with Galatasaray's physicality and commitment in the duel negating any potency Salah might have found in dangerous positions.
In fairness, the Egypt superstar did win two of three contested duels, but he also failed to complete his one attempted dribble, lost possession nine times and was unable to find the space to take a single shot. Twice he was caught offside, while he had even fewer touches (35) than Giorgi Mamardashvili (45).
It's clear that this isn't Salah's side anymore. In fact, Liverpool might actually be sharper and more fluid without the 33-year-old in the starting line-up.
Across all competitions, Salah has only posted nine goals and eight assists, and at no point against Galatasaray did he look close to adding to that tally.
Jeremie Frimpong is waiting in the wings, and the Dutchman's pace and trickery could be exactly what Liverpool need to add a little spice into their attacking mix.
Slot and co will hope that any decision to return Salah to the bench wouldn't be met too negatively, but we've reached a point in the campaign whereby fixtures carry extra weight.
Mo Salah interview quotes - Liverpool
Salah cannot go through the rest of the campaign without being dropped. His performances have not warranted thaty status. Hopefully Slot's potential decision won't disrupt the team's harmony, with Liverpool approaching a fork in the road that could lead toward titles or a fate outside the Champions League.
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