Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has struggled in 2019 to find his best form but some of the blame must rest upon the rest of Klopp’s Reds.
It is hard to come away from yesterday’s draw with Manchester United and not have some questions about the form of Mohamed Salah.
The Egyptian had a poor performance and was replaced after 79 minutes by Divock Origi. That everyone agreed with that substitution tells you all you need to know about Salah’s afternoon.
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It was another example of a game in recent months that Salah has struggled mightily to make an impact on. He has one goal in his last five games, against Bournemouth, and the Reds only have five goals total in those games; three were against the Cherries.
The most notable difference this season compared to his record-breaking efforts from last year is that he is not creating chances out of thin air. Last year he would do something special – either in a crowded box or on the break that would create a goal scoring opportunity for himself.
This year he has been unable to do that consistently. Some of that is he is now singled out for special attention from the opposition; often being double or triple teamed by defenders.
But not all the blame can fall on Salah’s shoulders. He has not had the support he needs, chiefly from the Liverpool midfield.
Where as Sadio Mane has Naby Keita and Andy Robertson feeding him the ball and creating space and options down the left, Salah has been isolated. James Milner has been at right back and Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum and Fabinho all play very centrally leaving Salah alone, often with more than one defender to beat.
Salah is not only the leading scorer for the Reds this season he is also the leading assist creator. The Egyptian King has seven assists in the league while his attacking colleagues have contributed five between them; Roberto Firmino has four while Mane only has one.
Undoubtedly he can do better with the chances he has been given. Salah is not given a free pass; his decision-making has been poor recently and he has snatched at opportunities.
However it would be remiss not to mention the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, the lack of assists from his attacking colleagues and the absence of creativity in midfield. The Liverpool attack needs to improve ASAP but it will take more than Salah finding better form.