Mohamed Salah may have matched Steven Gerrard’s Premier League assist record for Liverpool, but he failed to trouble the scorers once again as the Reds won at Sunderland.
The Egyptian has seen a dramatic drop-off in his ability to find the net this season, registering only four Premier League goals so far this season.
Despite attempting four shots, Salah could not get a single one on target and has now failed to find the net in Liverpool‘s last eight league matches.
Change my mind: Liverpool would be CRAZY to let Konate leave 😣
He is back to his best!
Ibrahima Konate battles with Brian Brobbey during Liverpool's Premier League match against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light (Credit: Getty Images/Stu Forster).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Stu Forster
Rumours emerged before Wednesday’s game that Saudi side Al Ittihad are preparing an offer for Salah at the end of the campaign.
And after watching the 33-year-old’s demeanour at the Stadium of Light, Liverpool legend Steve Nicol believes he spotted a sign which showed it is best for all parties if a move is agreed.
Mohamed Salah does not even look like scoring
Salah’s decline has been hard to watch for every Liverpool supporter this season.
It has not been for a lack of effort that the Egyptian King has lost his touch, he is still working hard and you can see how desperate he is to put things right.
Sunderland v Liverpool - Premier League
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES
READ MORE: Liverpool’s player ratings vs Sunderland as Florian Wirtz pipped to man of the match
But according to Nicol, Salah’s body language has betrayed that he thinks he is sadly finished at the top level of the game.
“He’s doing nothing that encourages you to think he’s going to get back to the guy who was scoring goals for fun,” the pundit said on ESPN FC.
“There’s nothing about his play, there’s nothing about his demeanour. He had a shot from just outside the box with his right foot that just went wide, but it was never going in and the look on his face, the smile, it wasn’t a smile of guy who’s scored 400 goals and for once misses a chance, it was kind of a ‘am I ever going to score again’ kind of look.”
Who was Liverpool’s best player in the excellent win over Sunderland, and why?
What a win!
Sunderland v Liverpool - Premier League
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Liverpool must replace Salah with pace
One of the biggest contributing factors to Salah’s struggles this season has been the continued decline of his top speed.
In his younger days, the Egypt icon would breeze away from defenders if they gave him even half a yard head start. Now, Salah looks incapable of beating even the slowest of full-backs.
With little pace elsewhere in the front line, this has become a real problem for Arne Slot and is something that must be addressed in the summer transfer window.
In terms of Salah, there is the potential of a confidence factor being at play here. The No. 11 is in the midst of what will comfortably be his worst goal-scoring season in well more than a decade and it is clearly affecting him.
As his shot towards the end of Wednesday’s match proved again, he is still getting himself in the right positions to get chances. The problem is that he no longer looks capable of finishing them. There is a chance this is still a temporary worry and one goal leads to another and then another. But with every passing display, it looks more likely that an irreversible rot has sadly set in for Salah.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox