Mohamed Salah has often been compared to Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi in recent years.
The peak came at the beginning of last season, which he started in an impressive way, one that continued his ability throughout the seasons in Liverpool.
He scored in bunches, looked at his peak and reminded of the dominance that characterized for many years the two players who are undoubtedly considered the greatest of the current generation.
The promoters claimed that it would be possible to put his name in the same line together with the Portuguese and the Argentine, only if he maintains stability for many years and provides a great output for Liverpool, and of course marches it to titles on a regular basis.
A year later, the same people who see what the Egyptians are going through, are standing tall and showing everywhere the "we told you so" look.
The Egyptian scored only seven goals in his last 28 games.
The bad form with which he returned from the African Championship in the middle of last season (four goals in the last 20 games of the season) continued at the beginning of this season as well.
With two goals in his first seven official games - not including the Community Shield game - this is his worst goal-scoring record since joining Liverpool in 2017.
Mohammad Salah.
Aims to continue breaking every record at Anfield, photo: AP
In the previous two seasons, for comparison, Salah scored six goals up to this stage.
While Arling Holland has already scored a double-digit number and scores on average every 49 minutes, Salah averages a goal every 270 minutes.
After the difficult defeat to Napoli in the opening round of the Champions League (4:1), Jurgen Klopp said that he and his apprentices need to reinvent themselves, and Salah seems to be the first to do so.
The numbers speak
In an in-depth article published in "Athletic", they tried to understand if the Egyptian's fitness is due to the general weakness of Liverpool or if he is responsible for his situation, at a time throughout the kingdom there are commentators who claim that the very fact that Salah received a luxurious new contract renewal for three years worth 350 thousand pounds per week is which makes him wander on the field.
Salah with Klopp.
The curse of the seventh season?, photo: I.P.I
His number of touches with the ball inside the box decreased by only 3 compared to the corresponding period last season, and he also created 8 more chances for goals (24 compared to 16) compared to this stage in 2021.
However, at this point last year the 30-year-old player kicked 25 times on goal, and this season only 17 times.
Also, in his dangerous area on the right wing, for example in the derby against Everton he touched the ball 43 times, while his average last season was 54.
Those who support Salah claim that his ability stems from the fact that Liverpool, following the suspension of Darwin Nunes for three games, was without a true number 9, a fact that does not help the wing players.
In the two games in which the Egyptian and the Uruguayan played together, they scored and assisted each other, and the presence of Nunez in the box created a kind of concern in the opponent's defense.
Salah. In better days.
Tonight against Ajax,
He created free space, from which Salah could profit.
Sadio Mane's departure also seems significant at the moment, given the fruitful collaboration between them for five seasons.
Also, it seems that the Egyptian is struggling to raise himself mentally after the loss in the final of the last African Championship to Senegal of that Mane, who two months later defeated him again in the play-offs for promotion to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The pressure gauge in action
Graeme Sons, former captain and manager of Liverpool, addressed the situation of the team in general and of Salah in particular, and claimed that the team's main problem at the moment is attitude.
"You can talk to all the modern coaches and analysts you want, fill those stat sheets that teams collect today with all the data you can lay your hands on, but the most important part of winning football games is getting to the ball first," he wrote to the Mail. Online".
"Salah signed the big contract he wanted, but he seems off, and I hope we don't see him start to rest because of that."
Salah.
Something has to change, Photo: Getty
Salah, who stated even before signing the new contract that he aspires to continue breaking every record at Anfield, will be able to answer Sons on the pitch today, against Ajax in the Champions League, the factory where Ronaldo and Messi have proven more than once that their greatness takes effect, precisely when the friends around them froze.
If we don't see a change tonight, the pressure gauge of Liverpool and its biggest star in recent years will continue to climb.
were we wrong
We will fix it!
If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us