Reds legend Jamie Carragher says that Liverpool is developing a stronger collective identity under Arne Slot, which is no longer defined solely by Mohamed Salah
15:58, 22 Feb 2026
Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah has been far from his best this season(Image: Getty Images)
Jamie Carragher has suggested that Liverpool is beyond being the "Mohamed Salah" team.
Salah became the focus of a public dispute with Liverpool in December after being left on the bench by manager Arne Slot. The forward openly criticized his situation and hinted at a possible January exit. He was left out of the squad for the Champions League victory over Inter Milan, but returned for the 2-0 win against Brighton after direct talks with Slot.
Before joining Egypt’s Africa Cup of Nations squad, Salah apologized to his teammates. This season, he has contributed seven goals and eight assists—well below the 57 goal contributions he recorded in 2024/25.
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Speaking ahead of the Nottingham Forest game, Carragher reflected on Salah’s current form.
"You'd always take Salah's record in his last seven games," said the former Liverpool defender. "He's been involved. He's got a couple of goals - one is a penalty and one is a free-kick.
"It's not the Salah of old. But he wasn't actually in the team before he went to AFCON. Now he's in Liverpool's first-choice team. He's been involved in all home games and certain away games. But this is now a settled team for Liverpool.
"It looks like he is doing more defensive work. This Liverpool team is not the Salah team of old. Almost everyone played for him then. Now you have more quality in that front four. It's not all about putting Salah on the ball."
Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool no longer solely relies on Salah
Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool no longer solely relies on Salah(Image: Getty Images)
Carragher also stressed that Liverpool is no longer solely a "Mo Salah team" with experienced players and new talent being integrated into the squad.
Carragher added: "This team isn't the Mo Salah team anymore, because you've got Wirtz in there, Ekitike, new players are coming in. "Last season, he was playing with three or four other attackers who were nowhere near his level.
"So almost everybody played for him. Now you've got other quality in that front four as well, with Wirtz and Ekitike, so it's not all about getting the ball to Mo Salah."
Carragher also hinted that Liverpool could potentially evolve into the Florian Wirtz team. "In the second half of the season, Wirtz has been fantastic," said the 48-year-old. "But he still doesn't have the numbers to back it up.
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But you still love to watch him play football. There's no doubt we're seeing his real quality now. He's influencing the game.
"At Sunderland, no one had won there before. He didn't get the goal or the assist, but if you watch that game, he was the best player on the pitch.
"Wirtz and Ekitike are doing well at the moment. But you feel they would need to go up another level to get Liverpool back in the title race next season."