Mohamed Salah has been under severe scrutiny at Liverpool this season, with Wayne Rooney even singling him out for lacking leadership at Anfield.
The right-winger has been nowhere near his best this season, with his performances sometimes single-handedly costing Liverpool games.
His final-third form has been poor, and for the most part, his defensive work has been terrible.
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But, due to how well Salah performed in front of goal last season, the Reds were able to take the odd defensive hit as they knew that the Egyptian King would get them back into the game.
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD4 match between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid C.F. at Anfield.
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
As mentioned, this season, he’s been unreliable, but Rooney believes that he spotted something different about the attacker against Manchester City on Sunday.
Wayne Rooney claims that Mohamed Salah hasn’t done anywhere near enough defensive work this season
One of the main things that has been dragging Salah down this term is his lack of defensive work.
The attacker has often stayed up front, and he’s left all the defensive work to his right-back.
This may have been acceptable last season, but now that Liverpool are eighth in the table and are somewhat shaky defensively, that simply can’t fly this term.
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And now, while speaking on The Overlap’s Fan Debate, Rooney claimed that despite Liverpool being dominated, Salah still failed to help out at the back, even though he did last term.
“Salah, actually, last season against City was probably the hardest I’ve ever seen him work. He got back, and he did defend,” he said.
“But this season, he didn’t. And then there’s big gaps and there’s holes, and that’s where they looked open. Konate then has to go out as well.
“I think he has been poor, Konate, but he’s out and Gravenberch’s dropping in. And that’s where we’ve seen the second goal, came from.”
Liverpool might need to drop Mohamed Salah to get into a decent run of form
Although Salah has been Liverpool’s star man for some time now, it felt like his time in the spotlight could be coming to an end.
There’s no hiding from the fact that he’s still an impressive player, but with the run of form he finds himself in at the moment, it’s unclear whether he’s helping or hindering the Reds.
When the Egypt international is away for AFCON, it’ll prove whether the Anfield outfit would be better or worse without him in their starting XI.
Mohamed Salah before Liverpool FC v Real Madrid C.F. - UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD4
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Players such as Federico Chiesa, Florian Wirtz, and even Jeremie Frimpong are likely to fill in for the attacker while he’s away, and if his exclusion makes the Reds more stable, some tough decisions will have to be made.
So, while Liverpool might not drop him until after AFCON, it’ll certainly help fans figure out whether they actually need Salah among their ranks or not.