Mohamed Salah

[Chairman Meow]

One goal in his last eight games, we should get rid now while he still has some resale value. 

[VladimirIlyich]

3 hours ago, suzy said:

Great to see! I wonder what TV he’s working for?

'Gizza job Jurgen?'

[lebron]

Rafa was on for Norwegian TV2 before, during HT and after the game. 

[VladimirIlyich]

29 minutes ago, lebron said:

Rafa was on for Norwegian TV2 before, during HT and after the game. 

Did he mention Code?

[dockers_strike]

4 hours ago, Chairman Meow said:

One goal in his last eight games, we should get rid now while he still has some resale value. 

Amidst the chaotic glory of Manchester City's 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday, one statistic slipped past unnoticed.

Mo Salah's failure to score stretched his goalless run from open play to 10 matches for club and country - his longest such sequence since the 2015-16 season, when he was still playing for Roma. Only a solitary penalty, dispatched against Brighton on March 12, has prevented him from an entirely barren spell.

Nobody is suggesting that Salah's powers are waning - even on Sunday, he supplied one of the passes of the season to set up Sadio Mane's second equaliser early in the second half, and he is still three goals clear of Son Heung-Min in the race to win the Premier League golden boot.

But his unusually fruitless run in front of goal does present Jurgen Klopp with an unusual selection dilemma ahead of Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg: does he leave his star man on the bench to try and refresh him for Saturday's re-match with City in the FA Cup semi-final or continue to start him in the hope he re-discovers his goal touch?

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Salah, 29, is one of the fittest players in the Premier League but he is not superhuman and could be feeling the effects of playing 48 games for club and country already this season - a figure that could rise to 61 if Liverpool go all the way in the Champions League and FA Cup.

His performance in the first half against City was notably lacking in fizz, failing to produce a single touch in the hosts' penalty area, although he did perk up in the second period, along with his team-mates. 

It is undeniable, however, that he has not looked in peak form since returning from the disappointment of Egypt's penalty shoot-out defeat to team-mate Mane's Senegal in the final of the African Cup of Nations, where he played seven times in 18 days.

To compound that disappointment, Salah then had to cope with the trauma of Egypt missing out on qualification for this year's World Cup in Qatar after losing again to Senegal in the two-legged African play-offs last month - a tie also settled after a shoot-out when Salah blazed his penalty over the bar.

Another explanation for his form dip could be the distraction of the speculation surrounding the protracted negotiations over a new contract - his current deal expires at the end of next season. There are suggestions a compromise is close to being reached, but for as long as the doubts over his future remain, it would hardly be a surprise for his mindset to be affected.

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In truth, Liverpool have not missed Salah's goals. Diogo Jota has four goals in his last five matches while the form of January signing Luis Diaz, the return from injury of Roberto Firmino and the availability of squad men Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino gives Klopp plenty of options.

Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz have stepped up for Liverpool in light of Mohamed Salah's slump in form Credit: AFP

Klopp hinted that he could make changes for Wednesday after assessing how fresh his players look and feel after Sunday's physically and mentally draining game at the Etihad but he insisted his selection will have nothing to do with the Wembley reunion with City in four days time.

"The next game has absolutely no influence on the line-up tomorrow night, " he said, "but the last game obviously has. So we have to see. It is a super intense schedule. There is nobody injured, as far as I know, but we have to be careful with who is fresh enough for this game and stuff like this."

With their two-goal lead, Liverpool are firm favourites to go through to their third Champions League semi-final in the last five seasons but an early Benfica goal would change the dynamic and Klopp doesn't need reminding that after beating Inter Milan 2-0 in the San Siro in the first leg of the round of 16, they were given a nervy night by the Italians in the return at Anfield when they lost 1-0.

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He added: "We see it as a super-important game, but we are in a world where if you win the first leg 3-1 and you have City either side, people think you can focus elsewhere. We see it slightly differently. This is a super, super, super important game. We tried to hard to qualify for the Champions League, and now we can make it to the semi-finals, which is incredible, and that’s what we want to show tomorrow.

"I don't know what Benfica’s tactics will be but I know what I would do - I would go for it, full throttle. I would try to put us under pressure, score early, and, if not try, to score a bit later. That’s what we expect.

"It’s obviously better for us that Diaz scored the third goal in Lisbon. It's 3-1 at half time, as tricky as 2-0. A good basis, but as we felt against Inter, if they get one goal, the game changes.

"We felt it in the first game. Benfica scored and all of a sudden, bam, it felt different. We have to make sure that this really feels like a place that they don’t want to go. We have to be really on our toes, really angry in a good way. They want to kick us out of the competition, so we have to be ready for that."

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Ibrahima Konate, who scored Liverpool's first then gifted Benfica their goal in the first leg, could come in for Joel Matip while Diaz, Naby Keita, Curtis Jones and Joe Gomez could also all start in what will be Liverpool's 51st game of a marathon season.

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/04/13/mohamed-salah-worst-scoring-run-since-2016-does-jurgen-klopp/

[Supremolad]

On 12/04/2022 at 10:55, Red Shift said:

Thats good news. 

Nice attempt at stoking the dying embers of the Salah v Mane "beef" though.

[andyj]

i dont think we can wait or let him go on a free. Set a deadline and if its not moved forward or contract signed then sell him on in the summer. Harsh? maybe but in reality if we let him go an a free after letting Wijnaldum do the same i can see the fans getting pissed with the club

[Red Shift]

6 hours ago, Supremolad said:

Nice attempt at stoking the dying embers of the Salah v Mane "beef" though.

Learned how to use me poker very early, me.

[an tha]

This lad is gonna deliver an avalanche of goals again soon....

[aws]

Tick, tock..

[dockers_strike]

BBC Gossip stating the club have agreed a £400,000 a week deal with Mo.

 

But, the dullshit-ometer is twitching because the story is just Agbonlahor saying he's 'hearing' this is the deal.

[Carvalho Diablo]

Thought Mo looked much sharper than he has done recently, in tonights game.

[aws]

9 hours ago, Carvalho Diablo said:

Thought Mo looked much sharper than he has done recently, in tonights game.

I thought he was starting to look a bit better against City and that continued last night.  Fingers crossed. 

[manwiththestick]

I suspect he's going to click into gear in the next few games.

[El Rojo]

9 hours ago, dockers_strike said:

BBC Gossip stating the club have agreed a £400,000 a week deal with Mo.

 

But, the dullshit-ometer is twitching because the story is just Agbonlahor saying he's 'hearing' this is the deal.

Has Agbonlahor just dropped a huge hint that he's Indy Kaila?

[aws]

Twelve games of vintage Mo from greatness. 

[Colonel Bumcunt]

Seems barely arsed. 

Must be hurting to see Sadio underlining he's a better player again.  

[3 Stacks]

Makes you sick sometimes. OK, end product isn't there, it's not there for Diaz either, but Diaz still makes right choices. Salah could be the worst player on the pitch and he plays obnoxiously no matter what.

[Numero Veinticinco]

Just now, 3 Stacks said:

Makes you sick sometimes. OK, end product isn't there, it's not there for Diaz either, but Diaz still makes right choices. Salah could be the worst player on the pitch and he plays obnoxiously no matter what.

It’s what has made him a great. He’ll be back. 

[luxury_scruff]

Who knows. I think we are at the end point now. Fabulous footballer, but he'd rather miss than pass for me.

 

 

[3 Stacks]

1 minute ago, Numero Veinticinco said:

It’s what has made him a great. He’ll be back. 

I'd argue it isn't. He's capable of making the right choices in the final third, as shown by his assist record. 

 

He's trying to score by any means and it's detrimental.

[rubble-rouser]

Worked his ball off in the second half today. He’s getting dog’s abuse for a poor decision - should have squared it - but he gave us an out ball all afternoon.

[luxury_scruff]

Me Salah.

[Lee909]

Some absolute shite being spoken here. 

 

The ACON and World cup qualifier have got in his head. He's snapping at things he normally doesn't. He will be back, just hoping it's this season. 

[TheHowieLama]

He has either lost a half step or Nathan Ake is the quickest player in the league.

Terrible decisions on the ball from the beardy today. Didn't help that he had the touch of a traffic cone.