For bare noen uker siden så det ut til at Jürgen Klopp skulle avslutte sin periode som Liverpool-manager med bravur. Klubben lå an til å vinne Premier League, manchester city drakt var favoritt til å vinne Europa League og var i kvartfinalen i FA-cupen. Å legge til tre trofeer til ligacupen som allerede var vunnet i februar, var ikke et så fantasifullt perspektiv.Men Klopps regjeringstid, som avsluttes denne sesongen, får ikke den romantiske, troféfylte finalen som de røde supporterne hadde ønsket seg. En rekke overraskende resultater – tap mot Crystal Palace og Everton – har så godt som ødelagt håpet om en ny ligatittel under tyskeren, mens de røde er ute av FA-cupen og Europa League etter sjokktap mot henholdsvis Manchester United og Atalanta.

2-2 mot West Ham på lørdag gjør at Liverpool bare har en liten sjanse til å vinne tittelen – bare en usannsynlig oppløsning av både Manchester City og Arsenal vil bringe dem tilbake i kampen.Jakten på en “firedobbelt” av trofeer har raskt løsnet i sømmene denne måneden, og klubbens elendige avslutning på sesongen ble illustrert av den tilsynelatende krangelen Klopp hadde med stjernespissen Mohamed Salah ved sidelinjen under lørdagens uavgjortkamp.

Da han var i ferd med å komme inn på banen som innbytter i andre omgang, viste TV-sendingene at Salah og Klopp utvekslet ord på sidelinjen.Klopp had walked over to speak to the striker, triggering a response from the Egyptian. Salah continued to speak in Klopp’s direction, raising his arm sin apparent frustration after the German had walked away, before teammate Darwin Núñez, who was also due to be substituted, intervened to end the sensational exchange.Arter the game, Klopp didn’t say what the incident was about, but told TNT Sports “We already spoke in the dressing room. For me it’s over.”

Footage of Salah making his way through the “mixed zone”, an area of the stadium where journalists can talk to players, was widely shared on social media, with the striker telling one reporter there would be “fire” if he spoke.Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch, who works as a pundit for TNT Sports, had this to say about the exchange: “It didn’t look good, I can’t read lips, I don’t think it looks good for the club.

“Mo Salah is a player who has started the majority of games for Liverpool and he will be furious to be on the bench. Players like that, who expect to start, are never happy.

“But nobody likes to see this between a manager and a key player.”

Liverpool have won just one of their last five league games and are now third, two points behind Arsenal, liverpool draktsett barn although the Gunners have played one fewer game. Manchester City, in second place, are one point ahead of the Reds with two fewer games played.Salah has been playing below his usual standard of late, and has been part of a Liverpool attack that has squandered many chances in recent games.Tre last time he scored in the league was in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford, a game that seemingly started Liverpool’s slump.Sine returning from a hamstring injury suffered at the African Cup of Nations for Egypt in January, Salah has scored just three goals for the club.