Liverpool have dropped points in back-to-back outings in the Premier League after drawing 2-2 against Fulham.
After Arne Slot’s side beat Girona 1-0 in the Champions League, it seemed destined for them to return to winning ways at Anfield after their 3-3 draw against Newcastle United.
But Andy Robertson’s sending off in the 17th minute hamstrung a Liverpool side who were already trailing 1-0 to Fulham after Andreas Pereira’s opening goal.
Goals from Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota were cancelled out after Rodrigo Muniz scored a late equaliser for Marco Silva’s side.
However, Liverpool are still sitting firmly at the top of the Premier League table, with a five-point gap on Enzo Maresca’s in-form Chelsea side.
While Mohamed Salah failed to get on the scoresheet against Fulham, he did manage to provide a stunning pass at the back post for Gakpo to head past Bernd Leno in the 47th minute.
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Fulham FC at Anfield on December 14, 2024 in Liverpool, England.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Mohamed Salah assist vs Fulham shows how overreliant Liverpool are on him
This season, Salah has registered 22 (13 goals and nine assists) goal involvements in the Premier League, contributing to 31 of the Reds’ goals so far.
With his latest assist, the Egyptian has now played a part in 70.96 per cent of Liverpool’s league goals this campaign.
For Arne Slot, Liverpool’s over-reliance on Salah should be a concern.
While any team would be incredibly dependent on a superstar forward like the former Roma phenomenon, in the event that he undergoes a dip in form or productivity, the league leaders could be in deep trouble.
A peek at the goals and assists Liverpool’s other forwards have notched up is an insight into how key Salah is to his side’s attacking prowess.
PLAYER PREMIER LEAGUE STARTS GOALS ASSISTS
LUIS DIAZ 10 5 3
DARWIN NUNEZ 6 2 2
DIOGO JOTA 7 3 2
CODY GAKPO 7 3 1
Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and Gakpo have a combined tally of 13 league goals and eight assists (21 goal contributions) for Liverpool this campaign, which is still lesser than the Champions League winner’s tally.
Diaz is yet to have scored a goal in the league since his brace in Liverpool’s 3-0 win against AFC Bournemouth in September while Nunez last got on the scoresheet against Aston Villa last month.
Fortunately for Arne Slot, Salah is scoring and creating goals at such a staggeringly impressive rate that his other forward’s inconsistent productivity is yet to have truly affected them.
Liverpool’s overreliance on Salah could hurt them in the business end of the season
Only time will tell whether the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City will be able to keep pace with Liverpool in the title race.
However, especially if seasoned winners like City manage to turn their season around and are in touching distance of them in the last 10 games of the campaign, Slot will have to ensure the goal contributions are shared around by that point.
Apart from in the 2021/2022 and the 2017/18 seasons, Salah has tended to struggle as per his own lofty standards during the final stretch of previous campaigns.
SALAH G/A IN THE LAST 10 GAMES OF PREMIER LEAGUE SEASONS
SEASON GOALS ASSISTS
2017/2018 8 1
2018/2019 5 1
2019/2020 3 4
2020/2021 5 2
2021/2022 8 5
2022/2023 3 3
2023/2024 3 1
Naturally, tiredness due to often playing in multiple competitions coupled with the in-form wideman often returning from the Africa Cup of Nations must affect his performances.
Furthermore, it is unlikely that even an output machine like Salah remains as effective as he is throughout the season at all times.
But if Liverpool find themselves closely-competing with one of their other title rivals during the last 10 games, their overdependence on Salah could come back to haunt them.
Arne Slot will likely be aware of this being the case and figuring methods out to make sure all his forwards are firing on all cylinders moving forward.
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