Big controversy: Mohamed Salah’s goalless streak continued on Sunday as calls for the Egyptian to be left out of the squad continue despite Liverpool’s crushing defeat at Manchester United.
Liverpool’s losing streak continued on Sunday – as did Mohamed Salah’s failure to score. The Egyptian has not scored a non-penalty goal in the Premier League since the start of the season.
The most egregious thing, and an indication of his current status, was when Arne Slott pulled him out with five minutes left and the Reds looking for an equaliser.
Salah’s troubles come after a year in which he was as prolific as ever, setting a number of records in front of goal, but it all ended with him being offered a new two-year contract. Given the numbers he produced, his age was ignored as a concern and a new contract was signed.
But six months on, questions are already being asked about whether Liverpool missed the red flags. Former Red Jamie Carragher claimed that “Salah should not be guaranteed to be a starter every week” and insisted he should sit on the bench for future away games.
Liverpool’s next two games will both be played on the road, first against Frankfurt in the Champions League and then against Brentford. Arne Slott needs to clear the throat of a misfiring attack and with so many options and combinations available to him, will Salah be the man to be sacrificed?
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We asked Mirror Football writers whether Salah, once an untouchable at Anfield, should be dropped, given his personal issues and the team’s struggles in recent weeks.
john cross
Slot must drop Salah. There’s no room for debate. Liverpool’s Egyptian King is out of form, has poor touch and looks lost on the pitch. Salah has been quiet in a few games this season and to be fair, although he tried hard against Manchester United, it just hasn’t worked out for him and he’s missed out on a huge chance.
No one player is bigger than the team. Still, judging by his form, Salah should be left out of the starting lineup for Wednesday night’s game against Frankfurt. Four consecutive defeats would be Liverpool’s worst result since November 2014, and a fifth consecutive defeat would be Liverpool’s worst result since September 1953.
Liverpool need to get their season back on track, and quickly. Other players are not playing well either. But I’m sure Alexander Isaac will do well. Also Florian Wirths. But Salah is simply not in the race. We have to take him out for the team. Try Hugo Ekitike.
This season will be the ultimate test for Liverpool. And Salah needs a break to regain his confidence.
Jeremy Cross
If manager Arne Slott is prepared to let Florian Wirtz go, he should do the same with Salah. His status at the club and the fact that he signed a new contract at the beginning of 2025 should be of no value. Liverpool are currently in a mini-crisis, partly due to Salah’s form and attitude.
His work rate is not good enough, his commitment is questionable and he lacks motivation when the ball is at his feet. He should be Liverpool’s talisman in times of trouble. However, this season he started going out far too often. He needs a kick to the backside, and it’s not like he doesn’t have alternate offensive options in the slot, right?
Perhaps a wake-up call will help cheer up Egyptians. Because if Liverpool are to defend their Premier League title this season, they will need him in the slot. But managers sometimes have to make big decisions like this. That’s what’s paying them a lot of money.
Andy Dunn
The format of the Champions League is a joke, with wins in three of the eight qualifiers almost guaranteeing a place in the knock-offs. Liverpool have won one of their opening two games and their remaining six games include home games against PSV Eindhoven and Qarabag.
Manager Arne Slott won’t have to worry about making any major changes to his squad ahead of the trip to Eintracht Frankfurt, and after eight Premier League starts and one European start, Salah is ready to be rotated in regardless of form.
However, although he may be rotated in a relatively modest role, Salah should not be left out. A short period of indifference does not mean he is no longer a force in the Premier League.
He’s made some bad choices. The choice to let Florian Wirtz shoot wide rather than give him a sitter was a particularly poor choice. But this is a disappointingly small sample to suggest that the Player of the Year award is over. He should start the next Premier League game and the one after that. Salah will be back to his best sooner or later.
sam mead
The famous quote about insanity – wanting a different outcome but doing the same thing – is well known. In each of Liverpool’s three Premier League defeats, Salah played from the right wing, with Alexander Isak slotting through the middle. Something has to change.
If that means poaching a big name, so be it. There can be too much loyalty and appreciation for what players have done rather than what they are doing.
Isak may be the most expensive player in the squad and Salah may be the club’s best goalscorer of the modern era, but neither has produced at the moment. The players coming in are not just academy kids stepping up, but big names waiting for their chance.
With all of this quality at Slot’s disposal, there is no doubt that there are formulas and combinations that will work. He needs to find it, and to do that he needs to make some big decisions. One of them should be the sacking of Salah.
ben husband
Liverpool look lost and Salah’s form should be a major concern. After all, although it doesn’t seem like it right now, we are talking about one of the greatest players in Premier League history.
This is a serious test for Slott and he can never be in the position where Salah is struggling. It was puzzling that Frimpong did not start on Sunday. He looks like the kind of full-back who can complement Salah perfectly and needs to play alongside him.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is clearly the elephant in the room, and his exit exposed a bigger problem that even Slott might not have anticipated. But his number one job is to bring out the best in Salah. He has to start every game, but he has to improve.
neil mcleman
Or perhaps it would be kinder to say that the Egyptian superstar should be rotated until Slott finds the right balance in his new team’s front line. And the sight of Salah entranced after 85 minutes at Anfield, just after Harry Maguire had scored and Liverpool were looking for an equaliser, was a clear indication of the Dutchman’s mindset.
Salah has been one of the best players in the Premier League over the past five years, alongside Virgil van Dijk. However, with current form, there is no longer any guarantee that Salah will start alongside Isak and Hugo Ekitike.
Although the Swede is yet to feature, the Frenchman is now a full international and could very well play alongside Kylian Mbappé at the next World Cup. Record signing Florian Wirtz also needs to be fit. Is it too easy for Liverpool to have both the German and Salah?
Manager Arsene Wenger always prefers to sign a maximum of three players per period to avoid destabilizing Arsenal’s squad structure, and slots require time, which is unusual in modern football. The weak defense didn’t help either. Ironically, spending an extra £10 million to sign Marc Gehi would have made the team more cohesive.
There’s no need to panic. If Alisson had been in goal, or if one of Codi Gakpo’s three shots had gone wide, Liverpool would have beaten Manchester United. However, not everyone will be able to play every week as it is designed to help the bigger teams make it all the way to the Champions League. This includes Mo Salah.
Tom Victor
Carragher said Salah shouldn’t be guaranteed to be a starter every week, and he’s right. Simply because no one should. The Egyptian, who looked like a constant goal threat in the first half of last season, was often used as a starter, but any team that wins the title will, by definition, have more depth than any other player. As always, the issue isn’t about dropping the player, it’s about controlling the narrative around the player.
Salah’s release is only a big deal if the slot allows it, and the Reds simply don’t have the room to fit all of their attacking players week in and week out. There’s nothing to suggest Salah is finished, but there’s no harm in showing that this is a team that can win games without him. After all, they’ll need to do that when he leaves his home country around the new year, so why not get him some practice?
mark jones
Frankfurt or bust for slots? Although we are not there yet, a midweek trip to Germany looms as one of the most important games of the Dutch Reds’ current reign.
Four consecutive defeats against the Premier League champions is absolutely unacceptable, and Slott must make changes ahead of Wednesday night, including removing Salah.
That isn’t happening with the Egyptian at the moment, and there is a real lack of dynamism and threat that comes from Liverpool’s third-highest goalscorer. It’s not terminal, and I’m sure he’ll eventually come back looking more like the Salah we all know, but I’d put him on the bench in Germany, just like Slott did with Galatasaray.
paul ghost
After such an underwhelming start to the campaign, is Slott briefly considering what the future will look like without Salah? Jeremy Frimpong started in the final Champions League game against Galatasaray with the Egyptian on the bench, an experiment that yielded little results, but could this be an opportunity for Federico Chiesa on Wednesday night?
The possibility of leaving Salah was presented to manager Jamie Carragher on Sunday, with the legendary former centre-back saying: “I think we’re at a stage now where Mo Salah shouldn’t be a guaranteed starter every week. I think that’s a real challenge for future managers. I don’t think Salah should be like Virgil van Dijk, a ‘first name on the team sheet’. Liverpool have played two away games in the Champions League. Frankfurt and then Brentford. I don’t think Salah should start in both games.”
Giving Salah some breathing space while also emphasizing that poor performance will lead to a time-out could end up being a powerful combination for Slott as he looks for a change in fortunes.
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