Gary Neville thinks Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah simply isn’t the player he was as attackers around him find their feet at Anfield.
Liverpool slipped to another defeat on Saturday afternoon and this one was frankly one of the worst of the Jurgen Klopp era.
Liverpool were beaten 3-0 by Brighton and Hove Albion but that doesn’t even begin to tell the story.
The Seagulls were dominant throughout; more shots, more shots on target, more possession, more passes, more corners.
Brighton came on top in pretty much any way to view the game and deserved their 3-0 win; in fact, Liverpool were probably lucky it wasn’t more.
This continues Liverpool’s difficult season and there are a number of problems for Klopp to try and solve if the Reds are to break into the top four.
Gary Neville questions Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah
One of them, unfortunately, is Mohamed Salah.
We know how good Salah can be; he has been one of the Premier League’s top players ever since joining the Reds from Roma in 2017.
The 30-year-old signed a huge new contract over the summer and his season has been a little up and down.
Salah’s raw numbers don’t look all that bad; 27 games in all competitions, 17 goals and six assists.
Yet Salah started the season with three goals in 11 Premier League games and has only scored once in his last five Premier League outings.
Salah is still a huge threat but has maybe just taken something of a dip as he adjusts to new faces alongside him in attack.
Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino used to be Liverpool’s exceptional front three but Mane has gone and Firmino hasn’t played as much as usual.
Luis Diaz came in but is injured alongside Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez has been a rollercoaster in attack and new boy Cody Gakpo is still adjusting to life in England.
Pundit Gary Neville has now told The Gary Neville Podcast that he thinks Salah simply is ‘not what he was in previous seasons’, believing his displays have tailed off a little.
Neville did though note that Mane’s exit and Liverpool’s new attackers being raw have contributed to that, believing there are a few things going against Klopp right now.
“Salah’s not what he was in previous seasons, Mane’s gone and the others are a little rugged and raw around the edges,” said Neville. “There are things that you could argue are going against Jurgen Klopp, there’s no doubt,” he added.
We will back Salah to be back to his best soon enough, but it’s all just a bit of a struggle for Liverpool right now.
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