Michael Owen has slammed the ‘non-existent’ Mo Salah after Liverpool were held to a goalless draw against Everton in the Merseyside derby on Saturday.
The former striker was also critical of Joe Gomez by claiming that he is a player who ‘makes me nervous’ as he played alongside Virgil van Dijk at Goodison Park, as he told Premier League Productions.
With Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate injured or returning from action, then it is allowing the Englishman to earn those extra minutes because he has fallen behind the two recently.
The issue for Jurgen Klopp is that, for the fourth time already this season, his team are dropping points and it’s not helping matters as they try to set the tone.
It’s none other than Arsenal who are doing that and they can move four points clear of second-placed Manchester City if they beat Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday and nine clear of the Reds.
Nonetheless, with Liverpool being left frustrated by a Jordan Pickford masterclass yesterday, this is what Owen had to say about Salah and Gomez.
“He has been pretty non-existent,” said Owen. “We did look at that before the game. How wide of a position he is taking up this season.
“Is that to do with the new centre-forward? Well, he has been missing for the last three games.
“But I still think in his absence, he has still been playing out wide. I wonder if that’s going to be a pattern that’s going to continue for the rest of the season. It certainly continued (against Everton).”
Owen on Gomez: “Joe Gomez, makes me nervous if I am honest. That’s a left foot clearance and he is trying to go with his right foot. Then mis-kicking and basically the ball stopped ten meters away from the goal. It’s not ideal.”
CAN LIVERPOOL FIND THEIR SPARK IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE?
It does feel like Liverpool are trying to find that spark and magic so they can really get going this season because it just isn’t there, especially for their star man.
With Sadio Mane out of the building, it’s Salah now solely in the spotlight for the Reds and he probably hasn’t been at his killer-instinct best in the final third.
After six Premier League games, the 30-year-old has two goals and two assists, if that’s the Egyptian star having a bad start, then imagine the damage he’s going to cause when he really starts accelerating.
Perhaps he needs a moment or a game to spark it up again because it could come next week when Liverpool kick off their Champions League campaign against Napoli.
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