Arne Slot substituted Mohamed Salah against Nottingham Forest, and Liverpool went on to win 1-0 at the City Ground without their talisman, who is on a Premier League goal drought
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer believes Arne Slot has a decision to make about Mohamed Salah(Image: NurPhoto, NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Alan Shearer has questioned whether Mohamed Salah warrants a place in Liverpool's starting line-up. The pundit has even suggested Arne Slot might drop him following Rio Ngumoha's impressive cameo against Nottingham Forest.
Shearer claims Salah's performances have fallen well short of the standards set in previous campaigns, though the forward has still managed seven goals and eight assists across all competitions. Since returning from Egypt's Africa Cup of Nations campaign, he has contributed two goals and four assists across eight outings.
However, Salah came off despite the Reds being locked at 0-0 against Forest, with Ngumoha replacing him for the final stages. The 17-year-old caught the eye after coming on, and Liverpool found the net with him on the pitch.
Reflecting on that game whilst speaking to Betfair, Shearer said: "It's been a really poor season up to now for Liverpool. But it has to be a good sign when they were as poor as they were last weekend against Forest and still came away winning the game.
"How many times have we said that the sign of a good team is winning when they're not playing well? That was a big win in more ways than one for Liverpool last weekend.
"There is a question mark over Mo Salah and whether he deserves to be in the team or not. I guess we'll have to wait and see, but he hasn't been anywhere near what he has done in previous seasons."
Mohamed Salah during a Liverpool training session
Mohamed Salah has come straight back into Liverpool's team after the Africa Cup of Nations(Image: Andrew Powell, Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
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"Rio Ngumoha does look a talent, but there's a balance the manager has to get right. When you're knocking on the door that much, at some point, the manager has to let you loose but also protect you.
"In terms of ability, there's no doubt he changed the game last weekend, and what that does is give his manager food for thought. But it would be a huge call to leave out one of Liverpool's greatest ever players for a youngster that's knocking on the door."
Nevertheless, Slot shows no indication of making such a decision, having supported Salah ahead of the West Ham fixture. He said: "We are used to Mo scoring a lot of goals, and at this moment in time, that is maybe the biggest difference in his performance and game time.
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"But we also know this has happened before. I don't know if it happened nine games in a row, but I've had these questions before: if he didn't score for three or five games. I know in the end he always starts scoring again.
"That is the challenge he has, and we have to make sure he starts scoring again. He is not our only attacker at this moment in time who doesn't score as much as we are used to.
"He set his own standards, and those are so, so, so high and the moment he doesn't score for a few games, people are immediately surprised - that is the biggest compliment he can get."
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