Chris Sutton has claimed that Jurgen Klopp faces an ‘issue’ with one Liverpool player who’s ‘not been at his sharpest’ in recent weeks.
It comes as no surprise that Mo Salah is yet again top of the Reds’ scoring charts this season with 23 goals so far, although that hasn’t prevented him from coming under some scrutiny of late.
In his weekly Premier League predictions column for BBC Sport, the ex-Blackburn striker wrote: “One issue for Jurgen Klopp’s side is that Mohamed Salah has not been at his sharpest since he has come back from injury – he has been missing chances that you expect him to put away.”
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Since returning from injury in early March, Salah has netted four goals in eight games – not a drought by any means, but also perhaps not quite the ratio we’ve come to expect from a man who’s netted 209 times in 341 Liverpool appearances (Transfermarkt).
Sutton makes a valid point about the 31-year-old missing chances that he’d usually score – his skied effort on the rebound from an Andre Onana save in the second half at Old Trafford last Sunday springs to mind – and like the team as a whole, he was worryingly ineffective after coming on against Atalanta on Thursday.
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A meagre tally of seven completed passes in 45 minutes on the pitch summed up the Egyptian’s tepid outing (Sofascore), as well as LFC’s overall ineptitude on a horrible night at Anfield.
Salah hasn’t been at his best in recent weeks admittedly, but he’s one player who carries a sense of being able to score at any time, even if his general performance is subdued.
It must also be taken into account that he’s barely had any let-up until he got injured at the Africa Cup of Nations in January, and at least he’ll have this summer off to recharge the batteries.
In the meantime, he could still have an enormous effect on Liverpool’s season. You simply don’t keep a man of Mo Salah’s talents quiet for long.