Mohamed Salah’s Liverpool career is winding down, but performances manage more than sentiment.
There are seven Premier League games and potentially five more European outings in the final weeks, and the stakes for Arne Slot’s side have never been higher over the course of the season.
Especially in the Champions League, it really has to be top performance after top performance to get any success come the end of May. With that in mind, Slot will have to ruffle some feathers and leave Salah on the Liverpool bench, at least for now.
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Manchester City v Liverpool - Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final
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Mohamed Salah must be dropped despite Liverpool farewell
It’s important to preface this by acknowledging the greatness of this player, but what’s happening on the pitch now is unacceptable.
It has been the case for most of the season, and was blatant in Liverpool’s woeful performance against Man City, that the Egyptian just doesn’t have that edge about him that brought so much success last term.
Let’s start with the finishing. It’s stunning how much worse it has been. Case and point is the ball Giorgi Mamardashvili hoofed over the top to put Salah through. It should have been an easy goal and a crucial one in the context of the tie, but he took too long on the ball and allowed the defender time to recover.
On another occasion, it was a simple enough first-time hit that was sent into the stands. And let’s not forget the penalty.
mOHAMED sALAH COMES OFF AGAINST mAN cITY
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What it means for Slot is that a change is needed. Salah needs to spend more time on the bench, despite how much that would hurt him and the fans in these final games.
That doesn’t stack up in importance to results, though, particularly in April and May.
Liverpool fans are after Slot again, and making this decision would likely not do him any favours with the Salah supporters, but it might just save his job. With Alexander Isak coming back against PSG, he and Hugo Ekitike should be given the keys to the front line.
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