It's time for BIG changes - PSG defeat has sealed the fate of these Liverpool attackers

Liverpool are OUT of the Champions League following their last-16 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield. The Reds went down 1-0 on Tuesday night with Ousmane Dembele striking the only goal of the game.

Luis Enrique’s side then clinched the tie on penalty kicks.

It followed a lucky first-leg victory for Arne Slot’s side in Paris, when one of only two shots they had on the night crept past Gianluigi Donnarumma.

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And while Liverpool have generally had too much for most of the Premier League this season, the PSG defeat over two legs has brought some glaring deficiencies to light.

In short, Liverpool’s attack is currently not in good enough shape to perform at the highest levels for the long term. Big changes are needed.

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Firstly, Mohamed Salah might not even be a Liverpool player by July. He is out of contract at the end of the season. He was in tears by the end of the game last night, hinting it could be an Anfield Champions League farewell.

Nuno Mendes is Salah Kryptonite

Even so, Salah came up against a quicker, stronger, more explosive player in Nuno Mendes. Over two legs, the Portugal full-back was Kryptonite for Liverpool’s Superman.

But beyond Salah, the Reds are set for a summer striker shape-up and against PSG we found out exactly why.

Diogo Jota hasn’t scored a Champions League goal in four years. That should have the alarm bells ringing. The injury-prone 28-year-old is not going to be kept around with that kind of record for much longer.

Time and again, Liverpool lacked an out-ball against PSG. In his two starts over two legs, Jota neither held the ball up well enough nor managed to get his teammates involved. As for a goal threat of his own? Forget about it.

Darwin Nunez did a little better. He made an assist for Harvey Elliott in the first leg and caused a nuisance for Marquinhos and Willian Pacho. The Uruguayan was busy again in his cameo in the second leg, but without being threatening.

These attackers are NOT up to it

He is not an £85 million striker however, nor does it look like he ever will be. The decisive penalty miss showed a man shot of confidence, and it’s hard to imagine that even Darwin thought he’d score it. It’s no wonder the Reds consider him expendable.

Luis Diaz too has got reason to be worried about his future. A notoriously streaky player, he made very little impact over two legs either. With a contract expiring in 2027, Liverpool could well sell this summer before his value plunges any lower.

The 28-year-old has got ONE Premier League goal since December 29 and only scored in ONE of his nine Champions League outings this season.

And what of Federico Chiesa?

Well he didn’t feature AT ALL over two legs despite being a capable penalty-taker in his own right and highly decorated full international. Will sporting director Richard Hughes be minded to assess the market for a buyer for the Italian this summer?

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Arne Slot has done tremendously well to keep Liverpool top of the Premier League for so long considering the over-reliance on Salah in the strike line.

But surely he now knows the support cast is flawed and not up to the job. It’s time to make big changes in attack.

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