The former Liverpool full-back has discussed Mo Salah’s recent form.
Ex-Liverpool defender Steve Nicol has suggested he is worried about Mo Salah’s drop in form.
The winger plundered 34 goals and 23 assists in all competitions last season to spearhead the Reds to the Premier League title. Despite being aged 33, he was handed a new two-year contract.
However, so far this campaign, Salah has not hit his previous heights. He has scored six goals and created another six in 24 games, setting up Florian Wirtz’s strike in last weekend’s 4-1 victory over Newcastle United.
Yet the Egypt international’s performance against the Magpies was a concern for Nicol. The former full-back, who won four English titles and the European Cup at Liverpool, pointed to the fact that Salah could not take advantage of a counter-attack in the first half when he was thwarted by a 35-year-old Kieran Trippier.
What’s been said
Speaking on ESPN, Nicol said: “We've all been asking the same question. How can you go from there to there just so quickly? Generally, it takes a bit of time when you start losing a bit of pace and your balance.
“Newcastle's right-back Trippier doesn't play every week because his legs have gone. Trippier is on the other side of his career. A ball was played through from Szoboszlai, it could have been played a little firmer, but Trippied could him comfortably and Salah, during that little passage at no stage looked comfortable on the ball.
“He's got a guy whose legs we do know have gone catching him, having been given a three-yard start. That's got to be alarm bells.
“When he was making mistakes previously and still scoring important goals, he knew... he has always been the same. When he used to give the ball away, it didn't affect his confidence because he knew he could still pick the top corners out, he could still run past people and score goals and make these assists. But now, there is nothing worse for a footballer when you realise you're losing things and not sure why, but it effects everything you do.
“Now it's chipping away at his confidence. That confidence looks like it's shot because any time he gets in a position where he used to pick the top corner out, he can't get anywhere close anymore.”
Salah is likely to keep his starting spot when Liverpool welcome Manchester City to Anfield on Sunday. Since returning from the African Cup of Nations, he has featured from the outset in all three of the Reds’ matches.
Before heading to AFCON, Salah found himself out of Arne Slot’s team. Salah claimed he’d been ‘thrown under a bus’ after a 3-3 draw against Leeds United and was omitted from the squad for a 1-0 Champions League win over Inter Milan. However, Slot has insisted that matters have been resolved.
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