Mohamed Salah made it five finals in a row without a goal or assist with an anonymous display as Liverpool fell to a 2-1 loss to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup.
Salah was among Liverpool’s least effective performers in an awful showing at Wembley, finding himself marked out of the game by makeshift left-back Tino Livramento.
It came after a similarly difficult night up against Paris Saint-Germain’s Nuno Mendes on Tuesday, in a week where the chances of a treble collapsed.
Liverpool are still on course to win the Premier League title and Salah’s career-best campaign is a huge factor behind that – with 27 goals and 17 assists in 29 league games and at least one goal contribution in 25 of those.
But after blanking against Newcastle, his record in finals has been highlighted:
Mohamed Salah only has two goal involvements in nine finals played with Liverpool and Egypt ? pic.twitter.com/WqW4UqsuqM
— CBS Sports Golazo ?? (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 16, 2025
In eight finals for Liverpool and Egypt, Salah has only scored one and assisted one – his last contribution being the penalty against Tottenham in the 2019 Champions League final.
His only assist in a final came in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations decider against Cameroon, when he teed up Mohamed Elneny in an eventual 2-1 loss.
That means the 32-year-old has not scored or assisted in any of his last five finals for club or country: the 2021 AFCON final; the 2022 FA Cup final; the 2022 Champions League final; the 2022 Carabao Cup final; and Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.
Even more worrying on Sunday was the fact that, per Opta, Salah failed to attempt a shot on goal or create a chance for the first time in a game in which he has played 90 or more minutes for Liverpool.
LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, March 16, 2025: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah looks dejected after the Football League Cup Final match between Liverpool FC and Newcastle United FC at Wembley Stadium. Newcastle United won 2-1. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Substitutes Harvey Elliott (two) and Curtis Jones (one) were among only four Liverpool players to create a chance against Newcastle, along with Dominik Szoboszlai (one) and Luis Diaz (one).
Six players attempted shots on goal but only Jones (once) and fellow substitute and goalscorer Federico Chiesa (twice) were able to hit the target.
Salah and Szoboszlai were the only players from Arne Slot‘s starting midfield and attack to play the full game, with the Egyptian touching the ball just 23 times and completing 13 of his 17 attempted passes.
Meanwhile, his performance in the recent 2-0 win over Man City, in which he scored one and assisted the other, saw him record 47 touches, create three chances and hit the target with both of his attempted shots.