The current season can be defined as transitional. It’s about the system.

There are many possible reasons, one overlapping the other

Over the past five years, the Egyptian has symbolized all that is good at Liverpool, but he surely won’t be able to bring this season to his credit. Throughout his career, he has won three Golden Boots, only Thierry Henry has been able to win this award more times than Salah. However, in this campaign, Mohamed’s results are far from impressive against the background of the departure of his main offensive partner, Sadio Mane. And injuries to Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz. Jurgen Klopp also spoke about this:

You learn new things: where a teammate is, where to pass the ball without looking. It’s not nice, but we can’t wait to get back to our best form, win 5-0 and move on to the next game. We have to work hard.

Salah’s form was influenced by the fickleness and mediocrity around him, which left him partially isolated, making him less likely to shine. At least many people hope that Liverpool will come to their senses this year, and with it Mohamed.

Moe’s right-field teammates Jordan Henderson, Harvey Elliot and Trent Alexander-Arnold have all come under fire this season for good reason. The isolation of the Egyptian has a connection with the already legendary trio on the side of the team. However, there is a widespread opinion among the club’s fans that Salah began to play worse immediately after signing a new personal contract, according to which he became the highest paid player in the history of Liverpool. Some even believe that Mohamed Peak is behind, it should be sold next summer.

The average age of the midfield trio, who often play in Liverpool’s centre, is 30.6 years. Aside from the Madrid trio of Kroos, Modric and Casemiro, it’s hard to think of another example where such an age-old midfield can withstand several intense seasons in a row. In the last campaign, the Merseysiders have played the most games. Furthermore, Liverpool’s usual attacking trio have also aged. She is also 30 years old.

With age, Bobby Firmino’s importance also declined. In autumn 2020 Diogo Jota was bought by Wolves and since January 2022 Sadio Mane has also been used as a center forward. Ahead of the current season, the Reds acquired Darwin Nunes for a record fee, which finally made it clear that the new Liverpool will play without a false nine.

Almost all of Salah’s stats have deteriorated

Liverpool are desperate for goals in 2023. Since the start of the new year, Klopp’s team have only scored 1 goal in the Premier League and their top scorer is not doing his job. On the one hand, he’s clearly not making headway, scoring 3.32 fewer goals than he should have under the xG model. At the same time, he scored or assisted in 69% of games played last season, and this figure has dropped to 42% this season.

In the last three games Premier League Salah scored only once each – during this time Liverpool were able to score only one point. In the last two, Darwin did not get out to the base. This can’t be an accident. When the Uruguayan isn’t on the pitch, Salah, like the whole team, doesn’t represent as much danger as we are used to seeing from Nunez. The striker wreaks havoc on the opposing defense, which allows you to create chances for both himself and his teammates. And in most cases for Mohamed.

Darwin is often criticized for his lack of implementation. However, Salah is not much worse. He is in the top 3 of the Premier League for missed chances (12). Only Erling Haaland (14) and Nunes himself (16) have scored more than him. Mo and Darwin for two missed 28 dangerous moments, while scoring only 12 goals. anomalous numbers. In 2020/21, when Salah was one goal away from yet another Premier League top scorer title, his npxG/90 (expected goals excluding penalties) was 0.43 and xA/90 (expected assists) was 0.43.0, 18. This season the numbers are even better: 0.46 npxG/90 and 0.19 xA/90. That is, it turns out that with similar indicators of expected threat, Mo scores much less than he did in the 2020/21 season.

Salah’s role has diminished not only in expected shots and assists. Mo has become much less likely to meet the ball – in the third attack he touched it 33.6 times in 90 minutes last season, and this year he does it 25.6 times, of which in the penalty area – 9.58 versus 7.33, respectively. But at the same time, the changes have also affected Mohamed’s defensive development. He started receiving the ball more often in his third field – 1.76 last season turned into 2.3 this season.

Salah has to adapt to the new realities

The struggles with his form can be traced back to this time last year when he returned as a defeated Africa Cup of Nations finalist. However, there is hardly a single person in his team who believes that Salah has calmed down and stopped having ambitions.

He has scored 17 goals in 29 games in all competitions this season. This is a good indicator for a player who is in a club in crisis. There is a difference between what Holland shows, but in this case, making comparisons would not be the right choice. Harry Kane also gets no praise, although if the Norwegian weren’t in the Premier League, the English striker would be more than gifted.

Salah surpassed Sir Kenny Dalglish’s legendary Liverpool 7 this season with 173 goals. Robbie Fowler is 10 and Steven Gerrard is 13.

Also, Salah is the top scorer in the Champions League this season. The return of Firmino, Jota and a couple of weeks later Diaz must help Mo break the chains and return to his previous form.