Mohamed Salah’s magic seems to be fading at Liverpool as missed chances and defensive gaps raise concerns. Is age catching up, or is it a system adjustment? We break down the reasons behind Liverpool’s star striker’s recent struggles.
There was a time when watching Mohamed Salah cut inside was enough to make every Liverpool fan rise from their seat. That signature shimmy onto his left foot — the pause, the curl, the roar. It was muscle memory for Anfield and agony for goalkeepers. But at Stamford Bridge last weekend, that familiar sequence ended with silence. Three times Salah wound up for the shot. Three times the net stayed still.
For a player who once made scoring look as natural as breathing, the sudden wastefulness is jarring. The missed chances didn’t just cost Liverpool the game — they symbolised something deeper.
A Good Start, But Cracks Beneath the Surface
On paper, Liverpool’s season doesn’t look disastrous. Seven wins from ten matches suggest a side comfortably in contention. But zoom in, and the mood is far less assured.
The three losses — all recent — have dented belief and exposed fault lines. Defensive lapses, unbalanced build-up play, a midfield lacking bite, and an attack suddenly short of fluidity.
And at the centre of it all stands Salah — the once-reliable talisman now under scrutiny.
After years of superstardom, pundits are daring to ask the unthinkable: Is age finally catching up with him?
At 33, Salah remains a specimen of professionalism — a player who trains like an Olympian and obsesses over every physical detail. Yet for the first time, his superhuman consistency looks mortal.
From Record-Breaker to Rebuilder
Last season, Salah delivered numbers that bordered on the unbelievable — 47 goal involvements as Liverpool stormed to the Premier League title. Week after week, he seemed untouchable, rewriting the boundaries of individual brilliance.
He was overlooked at the Ballon d’Or, ranked fourth in the world — a placement that felt more like an insult than an honour. His influence was so immense that Liverpool supporters openly joked that a Salah goal was as “inevitable as death and taxes.”
Now, that inevitability has evaporated.
Three goals and three assists from ten matches would be fine for most forwards, but for Salah, it feels worryingly ordinary. His precision has dulled, his sharpness flickers.
Since signing his contract extension in April, the output has noticeably dipped. Just two goals in the final eight matches of last season — a sharp contrast to his 0.9 goals-per-game rate before that. The decline has quietly stretched into the new campaign.
And for the first time in nearly two years, Salah found himself starting a major game — against Galatasaray — on the bench. Under Jurgen Klopp, that would’ve been unthinkable. Under Arne Slot, it may be the new reality.
The Alexander-Arnold Void
Every footballer has that one teammate who just gets them. For Salah, that was Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Together, they orchestrated chaos down Liverpool’s right flank — a blend of telepathic understanding and ruthless execution. Trent would drift into midfield, Salah would dart inside, and before anyone could react, the ball was in the net.
Now that connection is gone. Alexander-Arnold’s shock move to Real Madrid this summer left a creative void that Liverpool still haven’t filled.
Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong are capable full-backs, but they operate like traditional wingers — hugging the touchline, charging forward, rarely stepping into midfield. The intricate rotations that once freed Salah into central spaces are missing.
Adding to the congestion, new signing Florian Wirtz — Slot’s chosen playmaker — now occupies those very pockets Salah once made his own. Meanwhile, strikers Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak prefer staying high rather than dropping deep like Roberto Firmino or Diogo Jota once did.
Salah, for the first time in years, looks like a player struggling to find his space in Liverpool’s new world.
“I’d Question His Work Ethic”
When results dip, criticism follows. And after the Chelsea defeat, Wayne Rooney didn’t mince his words.
“Top players have an ego, and Mo Salah has been one of the best players in the league for a long time,” Rooney said. “When it’s gone well, you’re scoring goals and you’re winning games, it’s great and the team will put up with that. But over the last week, I’d question his work ethic. I know he doesn’t always get back and defend as much, but in the Chelsea game, his full back is getting torn apart, and he is watching.”
The comments sparked debate — not least because Salah’s defensive output has never been his calling card. Yet they struck a nerve, hinting at a larger tactical tension in Slot’s system.
A Tactical Gamble That’s Backfiring
Slot and Salah reportedly reached an understanding early last season: the Egyptian’s defensive duties would be limited, freeing him to strike on the counter. It was a high-risk, high-reward pact — and it paid off brilliantly for months.
But football evolves quickly. Rivals have adapted.
At Stamford Bridge, Enzo Maresca told Marc Cucurella to exploit Salah’s absence down the right. It was a bold instruction — to leave Salah unmarked and attack instead. The gamble worked, culminating in Estevao Willian’s 95th-minute winner.
It’s not an isolated case. Bournemouth and Crystal Palace have both exploited that same vulnerability. Salah stays forward, waiting for a counter that rarely comes, while Liverpool’s right flank gets torn apart.
The conundrum for Slot is clear: does he rein in his star man, or double down on the formula that once made him unplayable? Knowing the Dutchman’s philosophy, he’s unlikely to compromise. Slot has never been one for half-measures — he’d rather lose chasing victory than draw playing safe.
Still the Relentless Professional
Away from the noise, Salah remains Salah — fiercely driven, maniacally disciplined.
He was back in the gym the morning after the Chelsea defeat, already analysing what went wrong. And as the international break begins, he’s preparing to lead Egypt once more, chasing qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
With seven goals already in qualifying — including four in the reverse fixture against Djibouti — he’ll face Djibouti and Guinea-Bissau this week. The opposition might be modest, but for Salah, these games are about rhythm, confidence, and catharsis.
For a man who’s spent his career silencing doubters, there’s poetic symmetry in returning to familiar soil to rediscover his edge.
An Egyptian King at a Crossroads
It’s tempting to view this as a decline, the beginning of the end for Liverpool’s most prolific forward since Ian Rush. But perhaps it’s just a recalibration — a player adjusting to a changing system and a team still learning its own identity under new leadership.
Salah has faced dips before — short spells of drought that usually ended with an explosion of goals. His hunger, professionalism, and pride have always pulled him back to the summit.
As Liverpool and their talisman head into a critical stretch of the season, both know the stakes. The Premier League doesn’t wait for form to return; it punishes hesitation.
But if there’s one player who has built a career on defying time, expectation, and logic, it’s Mohamed Salah.