Ray Parlour has told talkSPORT that Jurgen Klopp may ‘have a quiet word’ with Mohamed Salah over the Liverpool forward’s recent dip in form ahead of visiting Manchester City.
The Reds travel to the Etihad Stadium in a possibly Premier League title-deciding clash of the two top-ranked sides. Pep Guardiola’s men hold just a one-point lead over the Anfield natives, who have won each of their last 10 top-flight fixtures after beating Watford 2-0.
Liverpool also put themselves in a strong position to reach the Champions League semi-final by beating Benfica on Tuesday. Goals from Ibrahima Konate, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz returned a 3-1 win in Portugal. Yet Salah scuffed a chance to add to their advantage.
In an uncharacteristically poor night for Salah, the Egyptian failed to make strong contact with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s ball in down the line, before Odysseas Vlachodimos made a strong save to keep the scoreline 2-0 with a strong block approaching half-time in Lisbon.
Salah has now gone three games without scoring and only has one – against Brighton – in his last seven appearances across all competitions. The 29-year-old had only failed to find the net in eight of his 26 outings before featuring at the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
But since losing to Mane’s Senegal in the AFCON final, Salah has only scored in four of his 12 outings. He has also only laid on one assist for the Merseysiders since December 4.
Parlour feels Klopp ‘might have a quiet word’ with Salah over Liverpool form
Arsenal hero Parlour does not feel Salah’s drop in form is a concern ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Manchester City. But he does expect Klopp to seek a chat and offer the £34m star some reassuring. As while form is alluding Salah, he can have a huge influence on Sunday.
“Every player has a little bit of a dip during their season, it’s about how quickly you come out of that dip,” Parlour said. “I wouldn’t be worrying about Salah whatsoever. On Sunday, he could score two goals like that, and suddenly Liverpool could win the game.
“I wouldn’t worry about the little bit of the dip. Yeah, there was a good chance for him when he toe-poked it. But the goalkeeper makes the save in the end. I think Klopp knows how good he is and how important he is for Liverpool.
“He might have a quiet word with him, saying ‘keep going, you’re going to get your goal soon’, and just get that little bit of confidence and belief in him again. But Klopp won’t be bothered about how he’s playing at the moment, I’m sure.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
