Graeme Souness has ripped into Mohamed Salah’s type and criticised his workrate amid Liverpool’s struggles.
The Reds’ dire run continued on the weekend once they have been overwhelmed 3-0 by Nottingham Forest at Anfield.
That defeat was Liverpool’s eighth of their previous 11 video games in all competitions, whereas it was the third time in 5 matches they’ve misplaced by a three-goal margin.
A number of gamers are enjoying beneath their title-winning type from final season and regardless of a summer season spend of £446million on the likes of Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike, Slot’s aspect look a a lot worse outfit.
A kind of struggling badly is Salah, and after a surprising marketing campaign in 2024-25 the place the ahead offered 57 objective contributions in 52 video games, he has scored simply 5 targets in 17 appearances this time round.
The 33-year-old has been ineffectual in assault, whereas different groups have additionally used his perceived defensive weaknesses as a method to get on the Reds.
Graeme Souness has criticised Mohamed Salah’s type and in addition hit out at his workrate
Liverpool are struggling badly in the intervening time, with the Reds dropping eight of their final 11 video games
And Souness was unapologetic along with his ideas on Salah when requested by talkSPORT.
‘How lengthy have we acquired?,’ he started. ‘He is been an absolute celebrity. That is the nicest factor I can say about Salah, he is been the go-to man for the final seven years.
‘If you happen to’re choosing an all-time Liverpool eleven, he is one of many first names on the workforce sheet. I feel it is his brother that is turned up this season.’
Souness then went on to pinpoint a warning signal he seen in Liverpool’s defeat by Crystal Palace within the Group Protect in August which urged one thing was completely different with Salah.
‘There was a ball, he had his again to the sideline and a ball was performed up and it is going in direction of the left-back in that recreation in opposition to Crystal Palace and he might simply have gone there,’ the Liverpool legend added.
‘He isn’t going to win it, he is not a giant robust aerial sort, however a minimum of he goes and makes life a bit bit troublesome for the full-back to do what he desires to do with it.
‘He made no try and make that problem. I am considering, he is by no means been the bravest, he is by no means going to get damage in a 50/50, he is cute as something and I would not need him to as a result of he is such a genius on the high finish.
‘However he is proven a scarcity of urge for food and, I am sorry, exhausting phrases typically are the kindest phrases and I feel he wants exhausting phrases that in the end are getting him again to being the celebrity that he is been for Liverpool, however this season he has not turned up.’
Souness pinpointed a second within the Group Protect and felt Salah wanted ‘exhausting phrases’
After an unimaginable 2024-25 marketing campaign, Salah has struggled to copy that type this season
In the meantime, Salah’s defensive weaknesses have even been highlighted by different groups this season, with Chelsea left again Marc Cucurella saying the Blues focused Liverpool’s proper hand aspect throughout their 2-1 win final month.
‘We tried to assault (on their proper aspect) at all times as a result of we all know that Salah is at all times able to assault, to play the counter assault,’ he stated after the sport.
‘So we all know that, we follow and the supervisor tells us that the area is possibly there. We noticed that within the final minute.’
When pressed on whether or not that was a weak point of Liverpool’s, Cucurella added: ‘Yeah, I feel they play one fashion of recreation that Salah is at all times able to assault so we put together that.
‘If we do the crosses [with] possibly quite a lot of tempo on them, so I feel we attempt to make these items on our aspect and right now it labored, and we are able to win the sport on this manner.’
The Reds are languishing in twelfth within the Premier League after Saturday’s defeat and return to motion on Wednesday once they host PSV within the Champions League.
