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Liverpool "won't win anything" this season unless Arne Slot finds a more sustainable fix to the problems his side has faced at the start of this season, according to Alan Shearer.
The soccer pundit believes the Reds' defeat at Manchester City showed results earlier that week against Aston Villa and Real Madrid weren't a complete turning point, with Shearer also sticking up for Wayne Rooney after Virgil van Dijk fired back at the criticism the ex-England ace leveled at him.
"If Liverpool continue to play like they did against Manchester City, then they won't win anything," Shearer told Betfair. "They'll get dumped out of whatever competitions they're in.
"They've got the FA Cup and the Champions League, but I do think the league's gone for them now they've lost five games.
"I don't see them being in a title race now. I think they would probably have to win every single game between now and the end of the season. I don't think that's possible. So, I think their title race is done.
"It's the Champions League or the FA Cup for Liverpool, but they won't be winning any of those unless they improve anyway.
"[The Manchester City game] went back to what it was a couple of weeks earlier. They were really flat; they were really poor defensively. They had no aggression in the midfield. It was a bit of a surprise, but he's got problems there.
"They're trying to shoehorn Florian Wirtz into a left-hand side position. Mo Salah's nowhere near what he was last season or what he's been like. Defensively, they're all over the place. They've got problems."
Rooney singled out Van Dijk and Salah for criticism before the former confronted him about that following Liverpool's win over Real Madrid.
"I think it's very difficult as a player to come out and have a pop back when you've lost five games this season and, in the manner you've lost them," Shearer added.
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"You're entitled to do that, I guess, as a captain. He's trying to stick up for his team.
"But I think the bigger picture is, if you're going to come back and have a pop at a pundit for saying that you've been poor, then you've got to back it up. And the game after that, he was really poor himself again, and as his team were.
"Your best talking is on the pitch and getting results. They were really, really poor, so I think the pundits are well within their rights to have a pop."
Liverpool.com says: It's hard to disagree on the Reds being out of the title race. Things can change quickly — and a better run of fixtures is coming up — but there is a big gap to Arsenal and Manchester City. In Europe is where the trophy hopes may have to lie.
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