Liverpool’s main man has struggled for goals and assists this season and was criticised for not trying to provide an assist for Florian Wirtz in the closing stages of the win in Frankfurt
One of the problems with social media and radio phone-ins is that you can never be sure if someone is telling the truth when announcing which club he or she supports. We have all heard something like the following.
“On the line, we have Mike, who is an Arsenal fan and thinks Mikel Arteta should be sacked.” The chances are it is probably Bill, a Spurs supporter who has had a pint.
“On the line we have Sheila, West Ham through and through, who reckons her club has the best owners in the Premier League.” That could well be Karen, a Millwall follower who is bored.
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And so to the airwaves and social media channels on Wednesday night after Mohamed Salah had chosen not to try and assist Florian Wirtz. There was a lot of talk about the Footballer of the Year.
“He’s selfish, always has been – Arne Slot should keep him on the bench.” Let’s give them the generous benefit of the doubt and accept these characters are actually genuine Liverpool supporters.
Of course Salah is selfish. And in other news, the Pope is taking mass on Sunday.
Great goalscorers are selfish. Legend has it that one of the reasons Alan Shearer chose Newcastle United over Manchester United is that Alex Ferguson told him he would not be on penalties.
Salah has not scored a club goal in over a month and is getting a lot of criticism from pundits and fans, of whatever persuasion. Liverpool were 5-1 up and in the meaningless stage of the game against Eintracht Frankfurt. Salah was one-on-one with the keeper, albeit at an angle.
Of course he went for goal rather than square it to Wirtz. If it had been 1-1 with the clock ticking into added time, he would have provided the assist. That’s the type of player Salah is.
That is why he had 23 assists to go with his 34 goals for Liverpool last season. As a general rule, he chooses the right option.
On one occasion against Manchester United, that was probably not the case but it is a rarity Salah gets it wrong. What the last couple of months represents for Salah is a dip in form, nothing more, nothing less.
And for a footballer who has played in an average of over FIFTY club matches per season since 2017, he is allowed a dip in form. Salah will not like being rested but was, presumably, aware of Liverpool’s summer spending plans when he signed a new contract back in April.
Presumably, he was aware Arne Slot would have more different attacking options for the 2025-26 season. At the age of 33, Salah should not be too upset to be rotated for a game against a strictly mediocre European opponent.
But he should be upset if he is left out of the starting line-up at Brentford this weekend, not least because he normally scores against them. As it happens, a couple of injuries – to Alexander Isak and Jeremie Frimpong – increases the chances of Salah starting. A front three of Salah, Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo looks nicely balanced.
But regardless, Salah will come good. Was he selfish at that moment in Frankfurt? Too right he was.
Did he have the hump that he had to sit on the bench for so long? Almost certainly. But that is part of what makes Mo Salah a modern-day great.
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