He has recently been criticised by several former footballers. Mohamed Salah has not had the best of starts to the season with Liverpool, and that has earned him the wrath of many. Deemed too 'lazy' on the pitch, and less pushy than in other years, the Egyptian has a duty to do better. Challenged after three consecutive defeats, he could regain his form and status as one of the Premier League's greats this weekend against Manchester United.
Salah, an option rather than a necessity?
Although the forward set the tone in the season opener against Bournemouth (with one goal), he quickly disillusioned his fans by failing to score until a month later (against Burnley, one goal). His last goal for the Reds came in mid-September against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League. That's fewer goals than previously, and begs the question: is it necessary for him to be on the pitch, given the large number of attacking players that the Merseyside club already has?
Especially as his contribution on the pitch is not what it used to be. Apart from a few interesting runs down the wing to try and break through the opposition defence, he has had one poor game after another. As a result, Liverpool suffered from this slump in form and ended up losing multiple games before the international break.
And in a squad where each forward is worth huge money, it would probably no longer be very difficult to justify Salah's absence from the starting XI. The Egyptian was on the bench against Galatasaray (Champions League, 1-0 defeat). Cody Gakpo, Hugo Ekitiké and Florian Wirtz made up the Reds' attacking trident. This could happen again if Arne Slot feels that Salah has become more of a burden than a blessing for the team.
Getting back into shape
For Slot, however, nothing is alarming about the Egyptian.
"We're not scoring as many goals as we did at the start of last season," he explained in a press conference a fortnight ago.
"It's something we're working very hard on and the more we play together in this new configuration, the better it will be."
Salah, therefore, has the confidence of his coach to get back on track. In a team that is still going through the motions after a number of departures and arrivals, his mission is to reinvent himself and move forward. And what better way to do so than against Liverpool's sworn enemies, the Red Devils?
Manchester United are the winger's favourite victims. In 17 games against United, Salah has scored 16 goals.
Perhaps he'll be back in action against Ruben Amorim's side this weekend, especially given that he has just scored twice for his national team (against Djibouti).