Steve Nicol noticed something about Mo Salah on Wednesday night which truly worried him
Steve Nicol noticed something about Mo Salah in Liverpool’s win over Sunderland on Wednesday night which alarmed him.
The Egyptian’s Premier League goal drought now stands at eight matches dating back to the victory against Aston Villa on 1 November, although he delivered the corner kick from which Virgil van Dijk netted the winner, his fourth assist in his last five top-flight games (Transfermarkt).
Gary Neville said after the Reds’ defeat to Manchester City last weekend that the 33-year-old is now enduring a ‘prolonged dip’ at Anfield, and Nicol aired similar sentiments following last night’s fixture at the Stadium of Light.
Nicol alarmed by Salah’s body language
The ex-Liverpool defender pointed to an air of resignation in Salah’s body language after one miss as a sign that the winger will struggle to again recapture the same heights he maintained for so much of his career.
The pundit said on ESPN FC: “He’s doing nothing that encourages you to think he’s going to get back to the guy who was scoring goals for fun. There’s nothing about his play, nothing about his demeanour.
“He had a shot from just outside the box with his right foot that just went wide, but it was never going in, and the look on his face, the smile – it wasn’t a smile of guy who’s scored 400 goals and for once misses a chance. it was kind of an ‘Am I ever going to score again’ kind of look.”
Salah not short of endeavour despite massive scoring slump
There’s no disputing that Salah’s output has fallen off a cliff dramatically this season, with only six goals in 26 games in the current campaign after netting 34 times in 52 matches last term, but it hasn’t been for a want of trying from the Egyptian.
Ian Doyle awarded him 7/10 in his post-match player ratings for the Liverpool Echo last night, writing that the 33-year-old ‘worked very hard’ and came ‘close’ to doubling our lead in the final few minutes, and his underlying match statistics illustrate the endeaovur that he showed throughout the game.
| Mo Salah stats v Sunderland | via Sofascore |
| Shots | 4 |
| Key passes | 1 |
| Big chances created | 1 |
| Passes completed | 27/34 (79%) |
| Clearances | 1 |
| Tackles | 1 |
Even though the goals have dried up alarmingly for him, he’s still contributing regularly in the form of assists, and he ought to have had another last weekend when his delightful delivery to Hugo Ekitike was inexplicably headed wide by the French striker at 0-0 against Man City.
Whilst we get Nicol’s observations about the frustration being etched across Salah’s face, it wouldn’t be accurate to infer that Liverpool’s number 11 is a busted flush who’s in irreversible decline and simply waiting to see out his time at Anfield.
So long as he maintains the effort of recent games, we’re confident that our legendary winger will soon be back on the scoresheet. With our Champions League charge reinvigorated after midweek results, a prolific Mo Salah could yet get the Reds over the line in that mission.
You can watch Slot’s full post-Sunderland press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:
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