MY ACCOUNT
Mohamed Salah has just one Premier League goal from open play since returning from Africa Cup of Nations duty with Egypt.
The division’s top scorer has struggled to find the net in recent weeks and his only strike in March was a penalty in the Reds’ 2-0 victory over Brighton.
Team-mates Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane have been getting on the scoresheet during this barren run.
But Salah, 29, is going to have to add to his 20 top-flight strikes sooner rather than later if Liverpool are to wrestle the title away from Manchester City.
Ahead of this afternoon’s FA Cup semi-final clash with Pep Guardiola’s side, we take a look at how Jurgen Klopp can get his forward firing again.
Time to refocus
After drawing a blank in the first-leg of Liverpool’s Champions League tie against Benfica — a game in which Salah spurned a number of opportunities — Klopp was honest about the struggles of his star man.
He said: “Every player in that situation wants to score and it’s clear Mo [Salah] wants to score as well.
“It’s a tough period, the boys came back from Africa, and that’s really not easy. Massive pressure. They need some time to settle, everything will be fine.”
Salah had to shoulder the weight of a nation during Egypt’s unsuccessful Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifying campaigns, so it is no surprise that has taken its toll physically and emotionally.
Couple that with his ongoing contract negotiations and it is little wonder the Merseysiders’ No11 is looking out of sorts.
Stop chasing it
The longer this goalless run goes on for, the harder Salah tries to bring it to an end.
At times you can tell he is trying too hard.
He is taking shots at inopportune moments and ignoring better-placed team-mates in a bid to put the ball in the back of the net.
Salah has only scored one open-play league goal from 39 shots since the Africa Cup of Nations compared with 12 open-play strikes from 80 attempts prior to the tournament.
As you can see from his shot map (above), the Nagrig native is not attempting efforts from high-value areas in recent weeks.
He is working the ball onto his left foot and looking to get shots off — but a lot of them appear to be getting blocked.
Sometimes, less is more.
Go back to basics
Earlier in the campaign, Salah would hug the touchline and look to isolate full-backs.
He would then dart into the area — either with or without the ball — and find himself in dangerous positions.
Not so much now.
He still stays fairly wide in possession but instead of getting into threatening areas, he is spending a lot of time on the edge of the box (as shown on his heat map above).
Salah is rushing every aspect of his game and it is making it easier to contain him.
History repeating itself
It is often forgotten Salah went six league games without a goal between February and April in the 2018-19 campaign.
Liverpool scored 13 times in those matches and the attacker did not even register an assist.
The 84-cap international then finished the season with nine goal involvements in 10 matches across all competitions, including the opener against Tottenham in the Champions League final.
That sort of hot streak this term could result in multiple trophies for the Reds.
Lady Luck
In football, you need luck.
Even the best players in the world require it. Salah had it earlier in the season but right now it is deserting him.
Given his form in previous seasons, it is fair to say Lady Luck will return to his side — and so will the Egyptian’s goals.
