‘Off the ball’: Joleon Lescott critical of ‘phenomenal’ Liverpool player

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Joleon Lescott has told LiveScore that Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is not as effective off the ball as Sadio Mane was.

The former Manchester City central defender made the comments about Salah while looking ahead to the Premier League game between Liverpool and Pep Guardiola’s side this weekend.

The pundit believes that Liverpool are missing Senegal international forward Mane, who left for Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022.

Joleon Lescott critical of Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah

Lescott said: “I said at the start of the season that Sadio Mane would be a big loss — but I think Liverpool have missed the Senegal international even more than expected.

“His intensity in and out of possession was crazy. He gave the opposition the fear factor in both sides of the game. Players knew he would close you down at such a pace and that meant you couldn’t make a mistake or hesitate.

“That’s maybe a reason why we’ve seen a drop off in intensity by Liverpool. That is before you mention the way he could destroy teams with his agility and finishing.

“With Mohamed Salah, you recognise exactly what he brings when he’s on the ball. His goalscoring numbers last season were phenomenal.

“But off the ball, I don’t believe the Egyptian is as effective at pressing as Mane was for the Reds.

“Couple that with the fact Salah is not achieving those same numbers this season and there is added pressure on him to perform — though his hat-trick at Ibrox will have done him the world of good.”

Mo Salah could hurt Manchester City

In our opinion, Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah could hurt Manchester City in the Premier League this weekend.

The former Chelsea star scored a stunning hat-trick against Rangers in the UEFA Champions League in midweek.

Yes, we know that Rangers are not among the best of oppositions in the world, but it was still come feat to come off the bench and bang in thee goals.

Salah is not having the best of times in the Premier League, but the Egyptian does have what it takes to bang in a goal or two against defending Premier League champions City.