1 week ago
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Arne Slot has said Mohamed Salah’s return to goalscoring will not be enough to prevent Liverpool's current slide down the table.
The winger netted a sublime goal in the latter stages of the Reds’ 3-2 loss to Brentford on Saturday, when he controlled a high ball with his left foot and then smashed it emphatically beyond Caoimhin Kelleher with his right.
In truth, it was a moment that took the spotlight away from another disappointing display from the winger. Salah looked timid at the Gtech Community Stadium and, like a few in the Liverpool ranks, was bullied in possession. The 33-year-old’s touch was off, and he rarely contributed to Liverpool’s attacking fluidity.
The Reds will hope his goal marks a change in fortunes and can serve as a much-needed confidence boost after going six games without finding the back of the net. But Slot feels that alone won’t change Liverpool’s fortunes.
“If Mo is going to go on a scoring run, then that is definitely going to be important for the team,” the Dutchman told TNT after the bruising loss at the Gtech.
“Football is about scoring goals, but football is also about not conceding goals, and for so many games now we have scored one, two, three goals and almost every time in the first five minutes.
“It would help the team if we have players that score goals, but that only helps if, as a team, we can keep a clean sheet, and that is not only what the last line does but what we as a team need to do better.”
Slot also revealed he deployed Salah in a slightly different position, with the Egyptian operating from a more central role against Brentford.
“Florian [Wirtz] played in the first half also a lot on the inside, but Mo played a little bit more central as well, like we did this week against Frankfurt," the Liverpool manager said.
“If you are 2-1 down, I was expecting in the second half them maybe in moments to be a bit lower and then it's always good to have Mo on the side, where he can get his crosses in, his one-v-ones.
“But it wasn't as if the second half was completely ours, that was definitely not the situation, they were in the game a lot. Although we scored the 3-2 and had a few moments to score the 3-2, they definitely had their moments to also score the 4-1.”
Saturday’s result means Liverpool finds itself behind Sunderland and Manchester United with the season now a quarter of the way through. The Reds could trail leaders Arsenal by seven points by the end of Sunday’s games, or potentially be as low as ninth when the final match of the weekend concludes.
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