Liverpool’s toothless Carabao Cup final display exposed a worrying flaw in Arne Slot’s team – and there’s pain coming if they don’t fix it this summer, writes LEWIS STEELE

If any Liverpool fan was in doubt about how much their team would miss Mohamed Salah if he does not sign a new contract this summer, they should watch back the Carabao Cup final.

Without their key cog, the Arne Slot machine malfunctioned and then some.

The joke here is that Salah was, of course, playing. But his anonymous performance highlighted just how much they rely on their talisman to come up with the big moments in the biggest games.

He was effectively nullified and with the Egyptian putting in a rare shocker of a display, Liverpool’s attack looked toothless. No Salah, no party. To slightly reword a banner in the Kop, if they don’t pay Mo the dough, who is there to fire the bow?

It would be a grand over-reaction to blame the disappointment on Salah alone, noting his record-breaking season.

But most punches that Liverpool threw at Newcastle were weak and swatted away. It was not until stoppage time that the Premier League champions-elect caused any real Geordie anxiety – on the pitch at least. Too little, too late.

In 43 games this season, Salah has been involved in a staggering 54 goals – 32 scored by himself and 22 assists

Darwin Nunez has one goal in his last 13 games and Liverpool need more non-Salah sources of goals

In 43 games this season, Salah has been involved in a staggering 54 goals – 32 scored by himself and 22 assists. That means the 32-year-old has been accountable for 51 per cent of the total goals scored by Arne Slot’s men this term.

The other five forwards – Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa – have scored 46 between them. Hardly paltry numbers, but if Salah is not firing, who is there to take a game by the scruff of its neck and tilt a tight contest in Liverpool’s favour?

Diaz has scored one goal in his last 19 games; Nunez one in 13; Jota has not scored since mid-January. All have been poor and Gakpo has been injured. Surely Sunday’s goalscorer Chiesa, and maybe energetic midfielder Harvey Elliott, deserve a run in the starting team soon?

The point is that the goals are not evenly shared throughout the team. If Salah has a bad day, most of the time Liverpool as a whole have a bad day, save for a few Hail Marys from the substitutes’ bench in the dying embers of games.

Compare this to Jurgen Klopp’s great team. If Salah did not turn up, there was Sadio Mane, who scored just one fewer than his Egyptian colleague in the 2019-20 title-winning campaign, or Roberto Firmino leading the line in a creative sense with 12 goals and 13 assists.

That year, the full backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson notched 27 assists between them and that statistic stands at just eight this term. Under Arne Slot there is a different style of play, sure, but it is another supportive factor of the theory that aside from Salah, the creativity is lacking.

And any Reds fan thinking they will be just fine if Alexander-Arnold leaves amid an offer from Real Madrid this summer, should think again. The injured star’s creativity and unorthodox passing from deep was sorely missed.

All of the starting front three had a terrible day, but the service was non-existent. It was not until Elliott, Curtis Jones and Chiesa came on that Liverpool started to seriously threaten.

This is by no means the 2019-20 title-winning team who had Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino leading the line

Dominik Szoboszlai (left) deserves consideration for team of the season, but he looks leggy

Given Salah’s record this season, it feels harsh to overreact and it is certainly not the time to do that

The midfield unit of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai all deserve consideration for the Premier League team of the season but all have looked leggy in the last fortnight. Has Slot been too loyal to his trusted trio?

Given Salah’s record this season, it feels harsh to overreact, but he is not exempt from criticism. On Liverpool’s biggest week of the season, the main man has faltered and his Ballon d’Or hopes have taken a significant hit, too.

The timing could not be any worse, but maybe there is a cause-effect relationship here, given this was his 11th final for Liverpool and his record in those is just two goals and one assist. He also tasted defeat in two Africa Cup of Nations finals with Egypt.

Obviously, the opponents are tougher in finals, so there is that caveat, plus the fact he hobbled off injured in the 2018 Champions League final and 2022 FA Cup final.

And not every superstar shines when the stage is brightest, as any Arsenal fan would have to concede about Thierry Henry, who scored 228 goals for the Gunners but none in finals.

But the statistics are still alarming. Across his Liverpool career, Salah has averaged one goal or assist every game, but in finals that falls to 0.3 per 90 minutes.

For the first time in his eight years at the club, the Egyptian failed to have a shot on goal or create a chance in a game in which he completed 90 minutes. Talk about picking your moments, Mo!

Salah is 33 in three months and, whether he signs a new deal or not, Liverpool know they cannot rely on him forever. The forward line must be freshened up this summer, with all five of Salah’s attacking colleagues guilty of inconsistency and being prone to injury.

Salah is 33 in three months and, whether he signs a new deal or not, Liverpool know they cannot rely on him for ever

They say you learn more in times of hardship and Slot may have taken more lessons from this challenging week than he has across the last few months of his team being on easy street

They say you learn more in times of hardship and Slot may have taken more lessons from this challenging week than he has across the last few months of his team being on easy street.

The boss left Wembley in casual gear and will now have a week of rest with his family as Liverpool’s next game is not until April 2 against Everton. He now knows the strengths and limitations of his team like the back of his hand.

But after the bruising week, captain Virgil van Dijk urged his team-mates to enjoy their time away from the club and come back fully focused on winning the Premier League. 

Liverpool need 16 points from the 27 still left to play for to guarantee the title, although in reality it may be fewer unless Arsenal somehow win every remaining game.

Captain Virgil van Dijk urged his team-mates to enjoy their time away from the club and come back fully focused on winning the Premier League

‘We have to turn this around,’ said Van Dijk. ‘It’s how football works… in five days you lose twice and the world is sinking and two weeks before everything was sunshine and rainbows everywhere.

‘We need to just keep doing the same things, the good things that we have been doing all season. There is a lot at stake, good things, so many positive and good things to look forward to. We play for the Premier League, the most difficult prize to get.

‘We will go for it and let’s see what it brings. You have to be confident and enjoy the last nine games. Obviously everyone should be disappointed by not winning the cup, but there is a title to win.

‘We all have to realise that the job is not done for what we have coming up. We have to work our a***s off for it and everyone needs to realise that.’