Mohamed Salah broke his Premier League goal drought against Wolves, but that was about the only good thing Steve Nicol had to say about the Egyptian.
The Egyptian got on the scoresheet during Tuesday night’s 2-1 defeat. Salah hadn’t scored in ten Premier League games coming into the tie.
It was a well-taken solo goal, though it was about the only positive you could take from his performance.
A similar chance arose just minutes later to put Liverpool ahead, and Nicol can’t believe he didn’t do better with the opportunity.
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Mohamed Salah during Wolves vs Liverpool
Photo by Ben Roberts – Danehouse/Getty Images
Steve Nicol on ‘horrible’ Mo Salah moment against Wolves
That killer instinct Salah displayed week-on-week last season seems to have disappeared from his game.
The goal itself was somewhat fortunate, slipping through the grasp of Jose Sa, but they all count. It was the next chance, where Salah had Dominik Szoboszlai and Hugo Ekitike with him in a 3v2 situation. He botched the pass.
Nicol appeared on ESPN after the game, where he identified the issue with Salah, and with Liverpool as a whole.
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He explained: “You have to take the other step and create clear chances and score goals, particularly against the team who are bottom of the league and who are going down. It’s not acceptable to lose in the way they did to Wolves.
“Wolves had two shots on goal. They scored two goals. And talking about going forward, in the final third, the final decision, the final pass was just horrible.
Mohamed Salah for Liverpool after losing to Wolves
Photo by Ben Roberts – Danehouse/Getty Images
“Especially the one we showed in the highlights with Mo Salah [wasting the 3v2]. Although he scored a goal, the goalie should have saved it, and he really didn’t contribute anything again all evening.”
That horrible moment he’s talking about was a decisive point in the game. With the score level, it was a gilt-edged chance to thrust them into the lead with just five minutes of ordinary time still to play.
He got it all wrong, and we all know what happened next. Wolves grabbed the winning goal to take all three points and give themselves real confidence heading into Friday’s trip back to Molineux.
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Virgil van Dijk losing with Liverpool
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Salah’s time as a Liverpool starter is coming to an end. He’s just one of the players who has struggled massively, but unlike with his younger teammates, there isn’t much benefit in waiting out this bad spell.
It could just be the start of a natural decline.
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