Just like Liverpool, Mohamed Salah is currently in a bit of a crisis. Coach Arne Slot was unable to give a concrete answer as to why the Egyptian has lost his scoring touch this summer.
Mohamed Salah is probably experiencing the most difficult period in his more than eight-year era at Liverpool FC. The Egyptian has been waiting for a goal for six games across all competitions. In addition, he is no longer undisputed under Arne Slot, as his place on the bench during the away game in Frankfurt made clear.
Naturally, the veteran was the focus of attention at the press conference ahead of the away game in Brentford (Saturday, 9 p.m.), where the team will be looking to end their run of three consecutive league defeats. Arne Slot himself could not give a concrete answer as to why last season’s Premier League top scorer (29 goals in 38 games) has not yet found his form this season (2 goals in 8 games). “I don’t know if it’s down to sharpness or not. It’s very difficult for me to say why that is,” said the Dutchman.
However, “he could think of a few reasons, but he’s not sure if they’re accurate.” For one thing, he cited the poorer scores compared to last year. “It’s perhaps easier to take advantage of a chance when you’re 3-1 up than when you’re 0-1 down,” speculated the Bergentheim native. However, the slump could also be due to changes in the squad. He first needs to “find new connections.”
Frimpong out for several weeks
But how can this be achieved when Salah is constantly forming the duo on the right side with a different defender? With Jeremie Frimpong, Conor Bradley, and Dominik Szoboszlai, three players have already played behind the winger in the right-back position. The former will now be out for a longer period of time after suffering a thigh injury. “He definitely won’t play tomorrow or next week,” explained the LFC coach.
Salah was not used to such rotation before, because home-grown player Trent Alexander-Arnold – who moved to Real Madrid – played alongside him for years. “It could be because he has played with Trent throughout his career at Liverpool,” Slot replied when asked if the changes were affecting Salah’s performance.
Despite the speculation, the coach is not worrying about his protégé. “Mo has always scored goals for our club, and the last thing I’m worried about is Mo starting to score goals again,” said the 47-year-old. Perhaps he will break his duck against the Bees, where he could replace Alexander Isak in the starting lineup: there is still a question mark behind the injured Swede.
