Image Credits: Imago Images
Mohamed Salah’s performances this campaign have fallen short of the extraordinary standards he established last term, when his record-breaking 47 goal involvements propelled Liverpool to Premier League glory.
Eleven matches into the current [Premier League season, the Egyptian international has managed only two goals and three assists, a stark contrast to his previous dominance.
Salah’s shots per 90 minutes have plummeted from 3.4 to just 2.0, while his Expected Goals (xG) has halved from 0.63 to 0.32.
His touches in the opposition penalty area have dropped dramatically from 9.6 per 90 minutes to a concerning 5.5, the lowest figure of his Liverpool career.
Perhaps most tellingly, Salah has been benched for consecutive Champions League fixtures for the first time since joining Liverpool in 2017, including the recent victory against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Many fans and pundits have pointed toward the creative void Trent Alexander-Arnold has left, particularly as the right-back was with Salah since he first joined the club.
However, Alan Shearer has a different idea.
In quotes relayed by the Independent, the Newcastle United legend has theorised that perhaps Salah feels he is no longer than main man at Anfield after the big-money signings arrived in the summer:
“Mo Salah’s nowhere near what he was last season or what he’s been like,” Shearer said.
“I don’t know whether (Salah) feels because of the money that has been spent on Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak that he’s not the number one player anymore.”
“There’s definitely something that’s not right, whether that’s the old age thing getting to him and not being as good as he was, or whether he’s got a bee in his bonnet about something.”
“But we’re definitely not seeing the same Mo Salah as what we’ve seen. You could say that about most Liverpool players actually.”
German manager Julian Naglesmann pointed to the same issue when discussing Florian Wirtz’s start at Liverpool.
He claimed that all of Arne Slot’s offensive starters want to be the “star player” of the team, leading to an imbalance.
Want to get the latest Liverpool news direct to your phone? Join our WhatsApp community by clicking here.