Alan Shearer has slammed Liverpool's performance against Brighton with a big Champions League prediction made. Arne Slot's side were beaten 2-1 away at Brighton in the Premier League, with Shearer horrified by their display and he made a particular point of criticising the two centre-backs.
He said on the Rest is Football podcast: "Oh, Liverpool. I think we were all slightly hesitant to go overboard about Liverpool in midweek about how poor Galatasaray were, particularly with it being away from home. But they had a lot more energy in midweek and you're thinking 'ok lets see that again'.
"I thought Liverpool were a mess. [Virgil] van Dijk and [Ibrahima] Konate got the run-around by 35-year-old [Danny] Welbeck, who had a field day. He gave them a torrid time and they looked really poor. They were flat, there was no energy, there was no press.
"I know [Hugo] Ekitike went off early in the game and that would have put them off their stride but there was nothing about Liverpool in that game that gives me confidence they're going to finish in a Champions League position.
Gary Lineker added: "I think it will probably be Manchester United [that finish in the top five] and probably [Aston] Villa after their big win, and then either [Chelsea or Liverpool] if English clubs get five [qualification spots] which it looks like they will do."
It was not the worst weekend for Liverpool to drop points as Chelsea also lost on Saturday while Manchester United drew with Bournemouth the previous evening. Villa's win over West Ham United did open a five-point gap to Liverpool, though.
Just one point separates the champions and Chelsea however, with it certainly looking as though one of those team will finish outside of the top five. Brentford, Everton and even Fulham could yet crash the European party.
If Liverpool do miss out, winning the Champions League is their only route into next season's competition. However, they have the tall task of facing holders Paris Saint-Germain, with Luis Enrique's side eliminating them at the last-16 stage of last season's Champions League.
Other silverware is also still up for grabs with Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals. They are due to face Manchester City next month to be one of four teams heading to Wembley.
That big knockout tie is Liverpool's next game with the March international break arriving first and several stars are set to be in action.
Ekitike looks set to be one of those despite the striker being withdrawn after just eight minutes on Saturday due to injury. The 23-year-old appeared to suffer a dead leg in a collision with James Milner and Slot eased any concerns after the game.
"Hugo, I think he could play tomorrow if he needed to. It was a dead leg, as you call it here, I think. Unfortunately, it was a collision, and that led to Hugo going out."
Injuries saw Alisson and Mohamed Salah miss the clash entirely with the duo set to continue recovering at the AXA Training Centre over the two-week domestic pause.
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