Brian Kerr - Lack of squad depth and form has caught up with Liverpool

Brian Kerr believes Liverpool's lack of squad depth has caught up with them as The Reds crashed out of the Europa League at the quarter-final stage 3-1 on aggregate to Atalanta.

Mo Salah's early penalty gave Liverpool hope in Bergamo of overturning last week's 3-0 trouncing at Anfield, but the Italian side defended well and secured passage to the semi-final with minimal fuss.

That leaves Liverpool to focus on the Premier League for the rest of the season, but after last weekend's shock home defeat to Crystal Palace, their hopes of a second Premier League title under Jurgen Klopp has been dashed.

READ MORE: When is the Europa League final and how can I buy tickets?

"I think their depth of squad has been found to be short overall," said Kerr on Virgin Media.

"Klopp got huge compliments for using the young players and managing to win the League Cup... At that time, the enthusiasm and energy seemed to be flying through the club.

"But as it has drifted on towards key games in the league and this competition, that squad hasn't stood up.

"They haven't been good enough. They were outplayed the other night (Last Thursday) in the 3-0 defeat."

The former Ireland manager was also critical of a number of players for performing poorly in recent weeks. Kerr name-checked Salah, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander Arnold as players who aren't firing on all cylinders at the moment before singling out Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz for criticism.

"Diaz a bit off. Jota didn't look like he had the sharpness he has had previously.

"I think all of that has caught up with them."

Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.