Liverpool have struggled to find goals in recent weeks and Mohamed Salah is one of the players receiving criticism, but Joleon Lescott doesn’t think he should be left out.
Joleon Lescott doesn’t think Arne Slott should leave Mohamed Salah out of Liverpool’s starting XI. The former Everton defender hit back at those who called for the Egyptian player to be benched.
Salah has been pivotal for Liverpool in recent seasons and was handed a two-year contract extension in April. However, the 33-year-old has yet to set out to execute this campaign to his extremely high standards.
He has only scored two goals in eight games in the Premier League and only once in the Champions League. Last weekend, Salah looked well off the pace as the Reds lost 2-1 to Manchester United.
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher is adamant about reducing the Egyptian’s minutes, leading to calls for him to be relegated to the bench. But Lescott, who made 143 appearances for the Toffees, disagrees.
Speaking on In the Mixer, presented by Sky Bet, he said: “I don’t think Salah should be taken off. Yes, he may be off at certain times, but the problem is with him. Nothing has changed in his performance, right? He just isn’t scoring goals.”
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“He’s not getting chances. If he starts missing chances, you can question his form, because for me Salah is definitely the player who decides the match. But his performances are about the same.”
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“He’s operating in the same area of the field and is very efficient when winning the ball in the final third in the box, so he’s not asked for much defensive work. If he’s doing that, I have to look at the team and say, ‘Why can’t we get him the ball?’
Lescott then outlined what Liverpool must do to get Salah back in goal. He added: “It’s the same with[Erling]Haaland. I think there was a time when he was very efficient in front of goal. If you give him the ball in front of goal, he will do his job. I think Liverpool need to do that.”
Milos Kerkes is another player who has endured a difficult start to the season. He earned around £40m back from Bournemouth for the Reds during the summer after performing well last season, but the expectations placed on him have yet to be justified.
Lescott believes Kerkez will have to adapt to the increased attention following his move to Anfield, but must also overcome the added pressure. He added: “Kerkes had a great season last year but he has to do it at Liverpool in a different outfit. It’s completely different.”
“With all due respect to him and Bournemouth, he has probably been on TV more this season and has been under more scrutiny than the whole of last season.
“So you have to get used to it and when you play for a team like Bournemouth most clubs want you to play well and everyone is ready to praise you, but when you get to Liverpool you have to know that the only people who want you to play well are the Liverpool fans.
“There are expectations and in a way some people are waiting for you to fail. So you have to get used to that pressure and that comes with playing in a big club.”
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