Dirk Kuyt (left) and Mohamed Salah - both pics GETTY
Dirk Kuyt (left) and Mohamed Salah - both pics GETTY
Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah equalled Dirk Kuyt's club record of seven losses in eight Premier League starts following a 3-2 loss at Bournemouth on Monday (January 26).
Salah, 33, is in the midst of one of his worst seasons for the Reds since arriving from AS Roma in the summer of 2017. He has scored just four times (also provided four assists) in 15 outings in the Premier League, where he drew a blank in the aforementioned defeat at the Cherries.
Having missed the last six league games owing to his AFCON commitments with Egypt, Salah couldn't find the back of the net but delivered an assist to Dominik Szoboszlai to make it 2-2 in the 80th minute. However, Amine Adil's 95th-minute winner ended the Reds' 13-game unbeaten run across competitions.
The defeat also meant that Salah has finished on the losing side in seven of his last eight Premier League starts, tying with Kuyt's mark set with the Reds between February and May 2012 (as per GOAL). During this period, the Egyptian has scored twice (3-2 defeat at Brentford, 2-0 home win over Aston Villa).
Having not scored in his last five Premier League games (starting thrice), Salah is two short of his worst scoring streak in the competition, where he has scored 190 times in 316 games (also 91 assists), winning two titles.
"It's a cruel game" - Liverpool boss Arne Slot after Bournemouth defeat
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot
Liverpool boss Arne Slot rued conceding the winner in stoppage time in a five-goal Premier League thriller at AFC Bournemouth on Sunday. The loss dropped the Reds to sixth in the standings.
First-half goals from Evanilson and Alex Jimenez gave the hosts a two-goal advantage before Reds captain Virgil van Dijk reduced arrears on the cusp of half-time. Dominik Szoboszlai equalised in the 80th minute, but Amine Adil's dramatic 95th-minute winner sunk Slot's side.
"It is a cruel game if you lose in extra time after coming back from 2-0 down at half-time," Slot told BBC. "It felt to me that if we were able to make up the 2-1, we would have been back in the game.
"We were a lot of the time in promising positions, but we were 2-0 down, and it did feel to me that we were going to score and get back in the game. It is fair to say that in the last 10-minutes it was more open, but I could see that my players were tired because we only had two days in between each game."
Liverpool return to action on Wednesday when they host Qarabag in their final UEFA Champions League league phase game. Fourth in the 36-team standings, a win will seal their place in the knockouts.