Mohamed Salah has continued to shine at Liverpool this season and is even considered to be having one of the best years of his career. He currently leads the Premier League scoring charts with 27 goals, ahead of Harland and Isaac. If he can score 3 more goals in his next 7 league games, he will equal the Premier League’s all-time single-season record of 47 goals, matching Andy Cole and Alan Shearer.
And because of such hot form, Liverpool’s owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), have decided to break with convention and offer the 32-year-old a brand new two-year contract, which is quite rare in their usual youth-focused operation. The contract was officially finalized recently.
Peak form had led to Ballon d’Or aspirations
Back in February, Salah’s form was so impressive that manager Arne Sloter even said publicly that if Liverpool could win enough trophies, Salah would have a chance to compete for the Ballon d’Or. At the time, the team was leading the Premier League, had reached the final of the League Cup and were still in the Champions League, so everything seemed to be going very well.
However, just six weeks later, things took a turn for the worse. Although Liverpool still had hopes of winning the Premier League, they were knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain and lost the League Cup to Newcastle, turning the whole season upside down.
A dip in form raises concerns
Salah’s performances have also fluctuated. In his last seven games, he has only scored once from the penalty spot, with no goals in sport. This is already his longest goal drought since March 2021 He has neither a goal nor an assist in his last four games and has clearly lost the hot streak he had before.
Look back at his performance in the spring of 2019, when he also went five straight games without producing a direct goal. Perhaps the spring was not a lucky season for the Egyptian star, but it begs the question as to what is affecting his play?
External factors: the impact of Ramadan cannot be ignored
One reason that cannot be ignored is the Muslim month of Ramadan. During this period, believers fast from dawn to sunset. While Salah has become accustomed to playing soccer during Ramadan, according to early studies, many athletes’ athletic performance is affected during this period, including endurance, explosiveness and concentration.
Although the timing of Ramadan varies from year to year and Salah has a track record of performing well during Ramadan in the past, it is normal to see a slight dip in form if his body’s rhythm is disrupted.
Changes in the team make it difficult to work together
Another reason is the change in Liverpool’s lineup. Starting right back Alexander-Arnold is injured, and substitute Bradley, although young and talented, lacks a tacit understanding with Salah. Arnold’s absence has weakened the firepower on the right and reduced Salah’s space to move on the side.
The stats show that Salah’s attacking stats have slipped significantly. His expected goals + assists (xG+xA) per 90 minutes has dropped from 0.89 at the start of the season to 0.41. He is now set up more on the wing, rather than cutting inside into the middle of the pitch to look for a shot as often as he did before.
Fewer chances, harder to perform as before
It’s important to note that Salah isn’t missing chances as much as he’s missing chances, but rather he’s getting fewer of them. This is the root cause of his reduced goalscoring. For example, against Fulham, his shot in front of goal went over the crossbar, while in the derby against Everton, his header was confiscated directly by the goalkeeper. Losing the added bonus of penalties, hopes of breaking the record became slim.
In addition, the poor form of the front pairing of Gakpo and Diaz affected the cooperation between them. Gakpo’s physical decline and Diaz’s fluctuating form made it difficult to convert Salah’s passes into assists.
The once sharp weapon is no longer sharp
At the beginning of the season, Salah’s most threatening attacking style was to cross to the far post, often creating great chances for his teammates. Both Gakpo and Diaz have scored off such crosses. However, in recent games, his crosses from similar positions have lost their accuracy. Statistics show that in the last six games, Salah has only made three successful crosses, while failing to find his teammates on 16 occasions.
Opponents tighten up defensive deployment
Salah has also faced more defensive pressure. Paris Saint-Germain’s Nuno Mendes, for example, stared him down in both legs of the Champions League. Newcastle developed a specialized tactic in the League Cup final that allowed Salah to touch the ball in the box just once in the match – one of his lowest records in seven years.
Fulham defended him just as tightly, often surrounding him with two to three men and forcing him to pass back. Salah’s only two games without a shot on target this season have come against Fulham.
Physical and mental pressure
Salah has played 45 games so far this season and has hardly been given enough rest. With such an intense schedule, it is inevitable that the player will suffer from physical exhaustion. Although he appeared to be in hot form with three consecutive breakthroughs in the opening stages of the season, this is likely to be an early overdraft of energy.
Despite this, Salah remains one of the most consistent strikers in the Premier League. He leads the pack in both goal and assist totals and is only slightly behind Bruno Fernandes in terms of chances created.
A trough does not mean the end
Despite his recent lackluster performances, Salah remains an indispensable core player for Liverpool. Although he may have missed out on the Ballon d’Or, Liverpool’s new two-year contract means that the Reds still believe that the ‘King of Egypt’ has a lot of stories to write.
Whether this slump in form is a long downward trend or a short-lived weakness during the course of the season remains to be seen. What is certain is that as long as Salah returns to form, Liverpool still have a chance to get back to the top.
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