Mohamed Salah’s poor form at Nottingham Forest has so far been a warning of mid-season burnout, but can Arne Slott trust his substitute to take his place?
It has been a remarkable season for Salah, scoring 38 goals (21 goals, 17 assists) in 29 appearances.
But in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Forest, the 32-year-old endured a frustrating night of world-class standards.
Interestingly, Salah has actually played the most touches ever (61), the second most shots (six) and the third most key passes (four) in a game so far this season. Ta.
However, the Egyptian player also produced his fourth-highest number of “miscontrols” (five) in a sometimes messy performance.
It’s no surprise that we rate Salah higher than other players, but his performances in recent weeks have not been entirely convincing.
His only goal involvement in the last three games was a penalty against Man United at home, and he still hasn’t quite had the spark he had before Christmas.
fatigue must be avoided
It would be wrong to say that Salah is suffering from burnout at this point in the season.
As the statistics against Forest show, he was still heavily involved, and the intervention of Mats Sells and Ola Aina, as well as the erratic finishing, let him down more than anything else.
The concern is that fatigue could become an issue if Slot continues to rely on No. 11.
Salah has started every game in the Premier League and Champions League this season, but his league minutes (1,767) are only behind Virgil van Dijk (1,800).
In past seasons, Salah’s form has often been overlooked in the spring, especially in campaigns interrupted by the African Cup of Nations.
Due to injuries, he only scored three league goals last season since March after the AFCON, which coincided with a period of frustration with West Ham manager Jurgen Klopp.
In the 2021/22 season, the addition of Luis Diaz has revitalized Liverpool’s attack, which had been sluggish since the middle of the season, and Salah has only scored 9 goals in 26 games since New Year’s Day.
Salah has continued to excel in the final stages of the season, but with Liverpool starting to drop points it will be important to manage their main sources of goals carefully.
Can a fringe player act as a substitute?
The biggest problem Slot has is that Salah is not only an essential guy who needs to play most of the time, but he may not fully trust his backup options. .
Liverpool’s head coach recently admitted as much, saying it would not be easy to simply remove the Reds’ star player.
“Everyone here knows the numbers that Mo Salah brings. There’s not much reason to take him out during or before the game,” Slott said.
“When we talk about his limited playing time, it’s not just about Federico. It’s about other people as well.”
Federico Chiesa had a rocky start to his career at Liverpool, with injuries and fitness problems preventing him from starting a single league game.
Can Slott trust the Italian to come in and start important matches in Salah’s place? And will he always have a choice?
Harvey Elliott is not at his best on the right-wing and his lack of pace is a factor, so it’s hard to see him being a regular substitute.
After all, Slot has the unenviable task of finding a balance between overplaying and tiring Salah and ensuring that the team’s options are reliable enough.
It certainly worked against League Two opponents at Accrington Stanley, but it may be a different story in a Premier League game where every point counts.
However, it is almost certain that they will advance in the Champions League, and they should at least have another chance to play in the rotation in the final game of the league against PSV Eindhoven.
Salah’s form has only dipped slightly in recent weeks – he could bounce back in a big way with a hat-trick against Brentford this weekend – but at 32 he will be managed wisely. That’s important.
We’ve seen supporters lament Salah’s departure in the second half of the season before, but it’s hard to avoid that.
