El-Hadji Diouf said Liverpool had bottled the Premier League and that he would be struggling this season

Former Liverpool striker El Hadji Diouf said the club had missed a huge opportunity to win the Premier League title last season and would find it difficult to face in the new campaign.

Jurgen Klopp's men were beaten by Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, despite a total of 97 points, a record for the second-ranked team in Premier League history.

In the end, a 2-1 defeat at Etihad Stadium in January meant that City became the only team to beat Liverpool in the league last season, thus denying them the title and the very precious Premier League record. unbeaten held only by Arsenal. compensated by winning the Champions League.

Diouf was a Liverpool player between 2002 and 2005, playing 79 times for the club before spending the last year of his Reds career on loan at Bolton.

The Senegalese have maintained a stormy relationship with the Anfield club since their departure and have often criticized club legends Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.

"They were very good last season. I do not think they'll be able to play like that this season, "Diouf told Mirror Sport in Cairo, where he will compete in the Africa Cup of Nations final on Friday.

"They missed the chance to win the title last season, because every season is different in football. If you look at how they managed for last season, they will not be able to do it again this season.

"The level they reached last season was amazing and I think about how they lost it, with a difference in points. We must therefore be realistic for ourselves.

"They have excellent competitors in City, and they have long been a team that has beaten so hard for the title, so I maintain that Liverpool will not be able to produce the level of performance that they have." 39, they reached last season. "

Despite his persistent hostility to Liverpool, Diouf revealed that he was impressed by the way his compatriot Sadio Mane and Egyptian star Mohamed Salah came to life in Merseyside.

"I think Mo and Mane are doing very well and they are raising the flag for Africa," he said.

"The facts are there for everyone to see that, for the moment, they are two of the best players in the world and that their contribution to Liverpool, both domestically and continentally, can not be underestimated."

Mane's Senegal will face Algeria, which will feature Riyad Mahrez from Manchester City, in the Africa Cup of Nations final on Friday, and Diouf believes that the player who will win will also be crowned the best mainland player.

"I think the best player in Africa will come from the winner of the Nations Cup," he said.

"Mane had a good season with Liverpool and he's here to make us proud, but Riyadh has been sensational here and so it's very close to call for now.

"Modric won the best player in the world (Golden Ball) because of his contribution to the World Cup, so Riyad's chances for me are as high as Mane's at the moment.

"Whoever is able to cross the line with the title here will get it for me."