1 week ago
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Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has pulled no punches with his verdict on Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who has had an underwhelming start to the new season.
Salah was taken out of the Liverpool starting XI on Wednesday against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League, with Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz impressing in his place. And the Egyptian could miss out on playing from kickoff again when the Reds return to Premier League action against Brentford on Saturday.
"You don't know what he is like around the place in terms of energy levels but if he's not at it, he should be droppable," Roy Keane said on The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet.
"He isn't playing well," Ian Wright agreed. "If you haven't got Trent Alexander-Arnold to find him when he is free, then he looks like he does now.
"He just looks like a passenger. Why is he so stagnant? Something has gone from his game.
"Liverpool aren't making chances but for the level of player he is, the technique for that shot against United was so weird.
"He is left-footed, but it was a right-footed finish. It is a basic thing to do."
"Even when he was scoring goals, he looked so ugly with his play," Scholes added. "He does some of the worst stuff you see, but he was scoring goals.
"When you stop scoring, you see all those other things. He can be the worst best footballer in the world."
Arne Slot was asked about leaving Salah out of his team in the Champions League before kick-off against Frankfurt.
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"The first answer is always yes (it was a difficult decision to make)," Slot admitted to TNT Sports. "But that is also to do with Mo and all the players I have.
"Every time I select a team, it’s always difficult because I have so many good players. That’s also the reason why I use these players. I liked the way we ended the game against Manchester United. Mainly the second half, we created a lot of chances."
Liverpool.com says: Salah being out of one game isn't a big story, given his form. If he doesn't make the lineup for the trip to Brentford at the weekend, though, that would be a major call.
That there is even a case to be made says plenty, though it is still very, very early in the campaign.
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