Liverpool: ‘Terrible’ Salah slammed as Slot ‘misses’ £65.5m star sold in summer for one ‘big reason’
A pundit has hit out at Mohamed Salah over his “terrible” start to this season, while Arne Slot “misses” one former Liverpool star.
Liverpool are in somewhat of a mini-crisis as they suffered three consecutive away losses before the international break to fall from the top of the Premier League.
The warning signs were there before this bad run as the Reds were fortunate to win their first five Premier League games and they have been exposed against stronger opposition in recent weeks.
The Premier League holders are lacking balance following their £400m+ summer overhaul, while most of their key stars are not performing at their peak.
Salah has been pretty ineffective in most of Liverpool’s games this season and former Premier League striker Troy Deeney reckons he was “terrible” in the 2-1 loss to Chelsea.
“The same as he’s done all season. Terrible,” Deeney said on The Football Exchange podcast.
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“And remember, every time I’ve said he’s been terrible, everyone in the comments has been coming for me that I don’t like Mo Salah. I have an agenda.
“But he has been terrible. Terrible.”
Danny Murphy, however, is not concerned about Salah, though his “end product isn’t as good as it has been”.
“I don’t think he looks lost. I think he’s getting in great positions. His end product isn’t as good as it has been,” Murphy told talkSPORT.
“He’s set the bar ridiculously high. His finishing hasn’t been anywhere near to his levels.
“He’s shooting when he should pass, passing when he should shoot, mis-hitting shots or ballooning them over when we’ve seen him score so many times in those positions. So, his end product is down.
“Physically, he’s getting in the same positions. He looks sharp. He looks fit. I wouldn’t worry about that.
“So I don’t think he looks lost in terms of what they’re doing when they’ve got the ball. It’s just his decision-making, and end product isn’t what we’re used to seeing.”
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Former Liverpool attacker Djibril Cisse, meanwhile, has explained why he thinks they “miss” Luis Diaz following his £65.5m summer move to Bayern Munich.
“Luis Diaz was such an important player for Liverpool on that left hand side,” Cisse told Poker Strategy.
“The way he created chances and scored goals so frequently was such a big reason for Liverpool’s success over the past few years.
“I don’t know the inside story of what happened over summer and in the months beforehand, but it certainly seems like Diaz has been a huge loss ever since he was sold to Bayern Munich.
“He’s been performing really well in the Bundesliga as well, so he’s still clearly a top player. I think Liverpool miss his ability on the ball when they go forward.”
