Mohamed Salah has hit out at Liverpool's style of play, saying the club need to rediscover their "heavy metal" brand of football, after "crumbling" to a 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa which left them fifth in the Premier League table.
The Egyptian forward came off the bench on Wednesday as his side were outplayed at Villa Park, with captain Virgil van Dijk's equaliser quickly cancelled out as the hosts exposed Arne Slot's men.
His comments made in a post on X come amid growing pressure on Slot, who accepted that the defeat, which meant Liverpool missed the chance to seal Champions League qualification, was "damaging."
Salah's post read: "I have witnessed this club go from doubters to believers, and from believers to champions. It took hard work and I always did everything I could to help the club get there. Nothing makes me prouder than that."
"Us crumbling to yet another defeat this season was very painful and not what our fans deserve.
"I want to see Liverpool go back to being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear and back to being a team that wins trophies. That is the football I know how to play and that is the identity that needs to be recovered and kept for good.
"It cannot be negotiable and everyone that joins this club should adapt to it.
"Winning some games here and there is not what Liverpool should be about. All teams win games.
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"Liverpool will always be a club that means a great deal to me and to my family. I want to see it succeed for long after I have moved on.
"As I've always said, qualifying to next season's Champions League is the bare minimum and I will do everything I can to make that happen."
Speaking on TNT Sports, Liverpool great Steven Gerrard responded to Salah's post.
"I think that he's sending a message to the outside that things in that Liverpool dressing room are not right, the identity's gone and it's really hurting him to see it in front of his own eyes," Gerrard said.
"I'm surprised -- the timing, one game to go, his last game for Liverpool. He very rarely speaks. But that is quite damning to the Liverpool manager and the staff in terms of where this team's at."