Alan Shearer has admitted that he’s struggling to watch Mohamed Salah decline so sharply at Liverpool.
The Egyptian has been one of the all-time greats of Premier League football, but has had a nightmare campaign as he prepares to leave the Reds.
Salah‘s season hit a new low on Saturday as he missed a penalty against Manchester City, and according to Shearer, things are becoming difficult to watch.
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PSG players celebrate after scoring during the Ligue 1 match against Toulouse at the Parc des Princes (Credit: Getty Images/Tnani Badreddine/DeFodi Images).
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Shearer says watching Salah decline is ‘not nice to see’
It was not only the penalty miss which showed just how much Salah is struggling at the moment.
The 33-year-old wasted a golden opportunity in the first-half, taking far too long to get a shot away and being charged down by Abdukodir Khusanov. The ball ultimately went out for a throw-in on the far side.
This was the moment Shearer focused on while speaking about Salah on The Rest Is Football, admitting that he is having a hard time seeing such a great player fall on such lean times.
“Salah’s miles off it,” said the Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer. “That chance he had in the first half.”
mOHAMED sALAH COMES OFF AGAINST mAN cITY
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“Khusanov had the chance to be barged off the ball, fall down, get back up and then challenge him again. He did the hard part in knocking him down, Salah.
“Unfortunately it’s not nice to see and then he misses the penalty as well, it was just one of those games. To see a Premier League great suffer like he did, it’s not nice.”
Salah must stop feeling sorry for himself
While every Liverpool fan will empathise with how Shearer has felt watching Salah recently, the Egyptian King has to remember who he is for his final games with the Reds.
At times this season – and again on Saturday – it has felt as though Salah is beaten before he steps onto the pitch.
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Xabi Alonso walks out ahead of Real Madrid's La Liga match against Real Betis at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu (Credit: Getty Images/Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto). Steven Gerrard pictured at Wembley Stadium ahead of England's UEFA EURO 2024 qualifier against Ukraine (Credit: Getty Images/Michael Regan - The FA).
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He is clearly lacking confidence, but he keeps compounding his poor performances with easy mistakes and big chances missed.
If he relaxes and does what comes naturally, surely he can return to some kind of form.
In the past, the big games have been exactly what Salah has needed to come out of a personal funk. In that respect, Wednesday’s enormous clash with PSG could be the moment he reannounces himself.
If he cannot – and there are no real signs of a reprise at this stage – Salah may well be about to play in the final two Champions League matches of his career.
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