Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has claimed that Jurgen Klopp's side are "not good enough" for the top four this season and has suggested that the manager "doesn't have the answers".
The reigning Premier League champions currently sit sixth in the table, four points behind Chelsea in fourth, after consecutive 1-1 draws with Leeds United and Newcastle United respectively.
Liverpool were 35 points better off after 33 games last season, and have struggled without their stalwart defender Virgil van Dijk for the majority of this season, but Aldridge also criticised the attacking players, in particular Roberto Firmino.
In his column for Sunday World, Aldridge wrote: "Liverpool's top-four rivals presented them with a chance to get back in the mix to qualify for next season's Champions League – but they confirmed yesterday that they are not good enough to take it.
"You look at Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and, especially, Firmino and wonder whether they can get back to their brilliant best. I have said before that Firmino is no longer producing the goods to justify his place in the team. If ever a game highlighted Liverpool's desperation to sign a top-quality goalscorer, we saw it yesterday.
"Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland would be the player I would go after this summer, but we don't know whether Liverpool could get close to paying for that transfer unless they sell Salah or one of their other big stars.
"This isn't a blip in form, a loss of form for a few players. It is much more than that – and Klopp doesn't seem to have the answers with this set of players any more."
Liverpool face rivals Manchester United next weekend in a crucial match in the Reds' hopes of securing a Champions League spot for next season.
Sammy Wynne
