Liverpool had their way with West Ham United as an attack on Saturday afternoon, destroying the East Londoners 5-2 in yet another key victory for the Reds in the Premier League. But Mohamed Salah was conspicuously absent from the proceedings.
In fact, it was the record, for him personally, 10th Premier League game in a row that the Egyptian legend has failed to score a goal. He also failed to assist in this matchup with the Hammers, registering no dribbles completed, fouls drawn, or key passes while directly losing the ball four times.
It was a rare disasterclass from a superstar player in which his team scored five goals. Now, we have already seen that, somehow, Liverpool are a stronger team with Salah involved than when he sits on the bench, but, at the same time, you can see why Arne Slot was benching him at one point – and why many want to see young, electrifying winger prospect Rio Ngumoha get some of Salah’s minutes.
Look, words like “finished” and “terrible” get thrown around way too easily in world football, and Salah, quite frankly, is neither of those things. But with only 4 goals in about 20 Premier League games so far this season, Salah is no longer the elite goal-scorer he was even just a season ago; he’s nowhere close.
With his inability to take defenders on, stretch the field, progress the ball, or do all the things wingers are supposed to do, Salah is nothing more than a veteran playmaker and a decoy out wide.
Liverpool, right now, have two of those players in Cody Gakpo and Salah. It isn’t good enough to win the Premier League, and that’s why Liverpool, despite a recent revival, are off the pace, and their recent wins have pretty much nothing to do with Salah.
There is no question that Mo is one of the greatest Premier League players of all time with a legacy as strong as Thierry Henry’s or Alan Shearer’s or Steven Gerrard’s and Kevin De Bruyne’s, let alone Cristiano Ronaldo’s.
But at 33, Father Time has come for Salah, and his new baseline is that he is no longer a bona fide superstar on the wings, but rather a backup tier player at a top club like Liverpool or a strong starter for a mid tier team.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.