2 weeks ago
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If there’s one thing you can’t criticize Arne Slot for, it’s a lack of imagination.
The Liverpool head coach’s attempts to fix the problems that his side has faced this season in the Premier League have been wide-ranging. Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back, Florian Wirtz in the wide areas, even Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike up front together at Anfield on Sunday. But nothing has worked.
But there is an obvious solution Slot is yet to tinker with, one that felt impossible 12 months ago and now is beginning to feel unavoidable: drop Mohamed Salah.
After Sunday’s dismal display against Manchester United, even the Egyptian’s most ardent supporters can’t argue that replacing last season’s top scorer doesn’t have its merits.
The winger was completely ineffective once again, a fact that feels particularly pertinent given his excellent record against United over the years. From wondering whether Sunday would be the day for Salah’s season to get back on track, a more realistic question is whether he will ever net against the Red Devils again. At 33, there might only be a few chances remaining.
Salah’s decline is made all the more remarkable by just how devastating he was last season, when he claimed the Golden Boot, registered the most assists and set a record for the highest goal contributions in Premier League history.
This campaign, after eight matches, he has scored just one goal from open play. That came on the opening weekend.
Sunday’s inept showing was compounded by the impact of Liverpool’s other attackers. Gakpo was the most potent attacking threat, scoring and hitting the post three times.
Wirtz created three chances in the 28 minutes he played, Ekitike added vigor and directness to Liverpool's attack, while Federico Chiesa provided an assist and managed 22 touches in 18 minutes. Salah produced 39 from 85 minutes.
That he was replaced in the final stages, as Liverpool desperately searched for a goal, perhaps best underlines Salah’s rapid deterioration. It may be the first sign that he is falling in Slot’s estimations.
After all, keeping the former Fiorentina and Roma man content has been a cornerstone of Slot’s methods since he joined Liverpool. Salah’s defensive contributions have been greatly reduced since Jurgen Klopp’s exit, he was the only player to feature in all 38 games last term and, ultimately, the attacker was rewarded with the lucrative contract he coveted. Perhaps some Anfield executives are beginning to question the logic of that decision.
Slot can no longer continue selecting Salah regardless of his performances. There comes a tipping point, and Sunday may mark the moment it swung in the opposite direction for one of Liverpool’s all-time greatest. The Reds’ no.11 did drop to the bench for the recent Champions League trip to Galatasaray, but that was as much to do with rotation as form. In the league, he remains a constant and has started all eight matches.
The first suggestion that Salah should be omitted from the team came in the wake of Liverpool’s win over Burnley, a game in which he scored the winning goal from the spot. That didn’t mask the perception that the game at Turf Moor passed Salah by.
Beyond the stats, there’s a grogginess to his performances; an absence of his usually ruthless finishing and a clear downturn in confidence. Salah’s passing has become erratic, and the usual assurance that feeding the right winger will help develop Liverpool’s attacks has gone.
Slot can’t ignore it if even he wanted to. Salah’s output was a talking point in Friday’s press conference and his post-match media dealings on Sunday. The Egyptian was also the topic of Jamie Carragher’s latest Telegraph feature.
The spotlight has been ramped up to blindingly bright at this point. Thankfully for Slot, he is not short of replacements.
Wirtz from the right is one tweak that has not yet been experimented with, Chiesa’s repeated impact off the bench surely justifies a start soon, while Jermie Frimpong had more of an impact against United than Salah with two dangerous crosses after his introduction.
There may even be an argument that it’s in Salah’s best interest to be taken out of the firing line, to introduce him from the bench against weary defenders.
How that sits with the Premier League’s fourth-highest scorer is another matter. But what use is massaging Salah’s ego if he can’t produce the goods on the pitch?
Suddenly, for Liverpool and Slot, the unimaginable is becoming very plausible. In the short-term, at least, a Liverpool with Salah feels not just possible but necessary.
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