Pundit slams three Klopp stars who cost Reds a Champions League

Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz cost Liverpool the Champions League title on Saturday.

This is the view of ESPN Expert Steve Nicol, who slammed the Reds’ trio for not producing on the big stage in Paris last night.

Liverpool lost 1-0 to Real Madrid on a night when goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was easily man of the match – and he was.

That illustrates the pressure Jurgen Klopp’s side were putting on Los Blancos BBC Sport claims the Premier League team had 24 shots compared to the Spaniard’s four.

And it was a dominant display from Liverpool and they could have won comfortably – and would have – if it weren’t for Courtois.

However, club legend Nicol also believes that, as good as the Belgium goalkeeper was, Klopp’s triumvirate of Mane, Salah and Diaz simply did not do enough to inspire the Anfield side to victory.

He said ESPN: “The first three, which we always talk about how good they are, well, when it mattered most, they didn’t produce. And that’s why Liverpool lost, because they spent 45 minutes in the Real Madrid half and when you do that, you expect your playmakers, goalscorers, to perform – and they didn’t.”

Alan Shearer saw things a little differently, blaming Trent Alexander-Arnold for his defense in front of Vinicius Junior’s goal that ultimately knocked down Klopp’s boys.

However, Nicol has a point.

Diaz in particular has been in sensational form since joining Liverpool from Porto in January but Dani Carvajal gave the Colombia international little chance throughout his time on the field while Mane was dominated by the likes of Eder Militao.

Salah is a turning point for the Reds and often bails them out but apart from a second-half try that Courtois saved well, the Egypt international hasn’t done much either.

These are the players Klopp would have expected to win the game for Liverpool and unfortunately they couldn’t.

In other news, Liverpool’s £164,000-a-week target has doubts about Manchester United transfer