Salah in need of centre stage return for Anfield’s grand show
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah during the warm-up before the Premier League match at Stamford Bridge. Pic: Adam Davy/PA Wire.
It has been a while, but Mohamed Salah was back playing the starring role last week with two goals in Casablanca that sealed Egypt’s place at the 2026 World Cup. The main man stepping on to centre stage yet again. Liverpool need him to stay there.
There are numerous reasons why inconsistent, unconvincing performances have been the common thread running through Liverpool’s start to their title defence, whether they produced seven straight victories or, before Manchester United’s visit to Anfield on Sunday, three consecutive defeats.
The upheaval from so many summer changes, Arne Slot’s search for his best XI, Diogo Jota’s death; Salah has felt the effect of them all during his uncharacteristically subdued opening to the campaign.
Sunday’s showpiece occasion could provide the spark for the source of a record 16 goals in 17 appearances for Liverpool against United, who are paying their 100th visit to Anfield and have not won at their fierce rivals for more than nine years. Salah will present Slot with another unforeseen dilemma, however, should he remain lost in the disruption much longer.
Liverpool’s head coach must have recognised the irony of Salah’s first goal against Djibouti last Wednesday. Swept first time with the outside of his left foot inside the near post, Salah’s eighth goal of Egypt’s World Cup qualifying campaign came from an almost identical spot to his costly miss against Chelsea before the international break.
Had that right-foot effort been converted moments after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would still be eulogising Florian Wirtz’s first sublime assist in the Premier League. Inquests into Salah’s dip and Liverpool’s rare losing run might also have been postponed. Instead, Wirtz’s wait continues while Slot stews over a third away defeat in succession, two inflicted by last-minute winners and one the result of a debatable penalty. Small margins, as Slot reiterated on Friday, but they do not camouflage bigger issues.
Salah was instrumental in propelling Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th league title last season while uncertainty over his future rumbled in the background. “We brought almost the maximum out of Mo this season,” said Slot when his leading striker signed a new two‑year contract in April. There has been a noticeable drop-off on an individual and collective level since. The team, not the terms of a contract, are responsible.
The 33-year-old’s output in terms of goals and assists is down 50% on the corresponding stage last season, from a combined eight in the first seven league games of 2024-25 to four (two goals and two assists) this term. His number of shots has fallen from 22 to 12 while shots on target have dropped from 15 to five, contributing to a sharp decline in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, Opta’s statistics show.
One attribute that has held more steady is Salah’s chance creation. With 12 chances created, compared with 14 at the same stage of last term, his figures remain among the best in Europe and up in the company of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his juniors by 15 and 13 years respectively.
Measures of collective performance will concern Slot more. Salah had 76 touches in the opposition penalty area in the first seven league games of last season. This term’s tally is 39. The numbers are symptomatic of the team’s problems overall. Only United and Arsenal have attempted more shots on goal than them this season, but Liverpool’s percentage of shots from inside the six-yard box is the lowest in the Premier League, their ratio from outside the area among the highest. Liverpool’s percentage of shots on target – 28.4% – is also among the lowest in the league.
“In the first half of last season we mainly scored from a special moment from one of our front three and in the second half it was more from a set piece,” Slot said on Friday. “This season we haven’t had as many acts of brilliance and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are still the team that from open play creates the most xG chances.”
They are not punishing opponents in the way Slot envisaged when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were brought on board this summer, although Liverpool remain the division’s joint third-highest goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for Slot to reach the 100-point mark in fewer games than any manager in Liverpool’s history (46). Imagine what his forward line will do when it does settle. Liverpool remain a team of supreme individual quality, capable of igniting and reeling in any rival for the title, but cohesion is missing. That can not be pinned on the new signings alone.
Salah is not the only established player to suffer a drop-off, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to match sharpness and Ibrahima Konaté toiling. But he finds himself at the centre of the disruption that has recently enveloped Liverpool. That extends to a personal level, with Salah’s grief over the loss of Jota clear on that emotional opening night against Bournemouth. The effect of Jota’s death can neither be measured nor overlooked.
Last season, he had Jota, Luis Díaz or Darwin Núñez as the focal point of the attack, Dominik Szoboszlai supplying him from an advanced midfield role and Trent Alexander-Arnold releasing him with pinpoint accuracy. Díaz, Núñez and Alexander-Arnold contributed 10 assists for Salah. Only Szoboszlai remains in the squad and the Hungary captain has been shifted to right‑back four times as Slot seeks to accommodate Wirtz and address shortcomings at full-back.
The rapport between Salah and Alexander-Arnold, which blossomed over eight fruitful seasons, has been a jarring absence. In nine starts this season, Salah has operated in front of three full-backs – Jeremie Frimpong, Szoboszlai and Conor Bradley – and alongside three new forwards in Ekitiké, Wirtz and Isak. Inconsistency, in Salah and Liverpool, should therefore be expected with the starting lineup at Chelsea suggesting Slot is not yet totally convinced by the new recruits.
Slot relieved Salah of some defensive duties last season to target his energies on destroying opponents in the final third. The trade-off paid rich dividends and a consistently world-class talent will no doubt deliver again. His second goal against Djibouti, a superb volley cushioned over the advancing keeper, was a little reminder of what Liverpool have come to expect.
Slot’s tactical trade-off with Salah demands goals and assists in exchange for leaving Liverpool’s right flank more exposed. Marc Cucurella, the Chelsea left-back, said Enzo Maresca had targeted the space down Liverpool’s right at Stamford Bridge.
“I heard the comments from Cucurella and saw how they scored the 2-1,” Slot said. “But I can also show you five or six moments where Mo could have made the difference for us. If that had happened, we would have had the conversation like we did last season where he made the difference so many times for us. If that doesn’t happen then there are probably comments like this.
“There is always the balance between winger and full-backs. I want our full-backs to attack as well. We have to find the right balance in that.” He also needs Salah to command centre stage again. Against United, he usually does.
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