'I saw Mohamed Salah brutally laid bare - and his Liverpool successor is obvious'

Mohamed Salah endured a nightmare final game at the Etihad Stadium as Liverpool crashed out of the FA Cup, with Arne Slot desperately needing a refresh this summer

Mohamed Salah during the FA Cup tie between Man City and Liverpool.(Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)

On a day when Arne Slot suffered his heaviest defeat as Liverpool head coach, and when Dominik Szoboszlai openly questioned the mentality and the willpower of his teammates shortly after making an intriguing gesture to the away end, positives were in short supply.

Liverpool was torn apart by Erling Haaland and hammered by Manchester City, once again falling apart when things got difficult. But the opening third of the game saw the Reds in the ascendancy, making it all the more baffling.

As Szoboszlai himself had said only a few weeks ago, if Liverpool knew what the solution was, they wouldn't keep playing in the same way and repeating the same errors. This was nothing new, even if it was a fresh low in terms of the scoreline.

As far as farewell tours, the long — well, likely nine-game — goodbye to Mohamed Salah began in the worst possible manner. He was as dismal as anyone.

"Leaving is never easy," Salah said. "You gave me the best time of my life. I will always be one of you. This club will always be my home, to me and my family. Thank you for everything. Because of all of you, I will never walk alone."

Nevertheless, it is inescapable that this is the right time for the two parties — Salah and Liverpool — to part ways. Though it would have been impossible to let him leave on a free at the end of last season, hindsight would suggest that would have been the best course of action.

While Liverpool would have scored a significant PR own-goal by letting Salah leave after the best season of his career — and, no doubt, his absence would have been put forward as the primary explanation for this season's troubles had he not been there — the campaign has not gone to plan for anyone.

Arne Slot and Mohamed Salah during the Premier League game between Liverpool and Tottenham.(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

At the same time, it is possible to celebrate Salah's achievements in the last nine years and prepare for the future simultaneously. The difficult contradiction is that the Egyptian scoring a few goals might yet be useful in securing a place in next year's Champions League.

Here, Salah was deployed in a front two, essentially freed from the defensive responsibilities that he has when he is on the right-hand side. Though it didn't work, it was still — in a way — a glimpse of the future.

Florian Wirtz's best performances for Liverpool so far have tended to come when he has been used off the left, as he was here, with Szoboszlai then able to play further forward in midfield alongside him.

In front of those No.10s, effectively in a 4-2-2-2 system, there is Hugo Ekitike and then Salah. But while the latter was ineffective, a fully firing Alexander Isak will be a different prospect.

"I was hoping the same (that he would be available), but you do these things with the medical staff and the player, and we came to the conclusion that it was better for him to have a few more sessions before bringing him in," Slot told TNT Sports.

When Isak is back, the plan has to be to get the Swede, Ekitike and Wirtz in the same team as often as possible, even though the best of the trio won't be seen until next season.

Given that Szoboszlai being in the center is non-negotiable and Ryan Gravenberch is viewed as the future in the deeper role, that kind of set-up makes plenty of sense.

In a better-functioning side, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong would be able to fly forward from full-back to offer some width, and the blueprint is clear.

Losing 4-0 to anyone is hardly the time to highlight the positives, but Isak upgrading Salah will change things. Unfortunately, that's just one problem of many.