MY ACCOUNT
After an underwhelming start to the campaign, Mohamed Salah has been red hot in Liverpool’s last two games.
The Egyptian, 30, followed up a stunning six-minute hat-trick in a 7-1 dismantling of Rangers last Wednesday by scoring the winner against Manchester City in Sunday’s Premier League clash.
With Diogo Jota joining fellow forward Luis Diaz on Jurgen Klopp’s ever-growing injury list, Salah is set to take on a large share of the goalscoring burden in the coming weeks.
As he looks to continue his fine form against West Ham tonight, we turn the spotlight on the Reds’ main man.
Mood changer
A difficult couple of months saw Salah net just twice in his first eight Premier League games this term, looking a shadow of the player who managed 31 goals in all competitions last season.
Add that to the loss of partner in crime Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich over the summer and Klopp’s men had looked worryingly blunt going forward.
But those issues were nowhere to be seen as Liverpool hit seven in an extraordinary attacking display at Ibrox last week, with Salah claiming a treble off the bench.
Having stuttered up to that point, Klopp hailed the performance as potentially pivotal for their campaign.
He said: “It changes the mood, definitely. It is completely different.
“Mo Salah? Special. Very important, the whole thing was. I can’t think of one player who didn’t have a good game.
“We all know when it is running for Mo he is absolutely exceptional. I hope for him everything works from now on, like I hope it does for us.”
Following that up with an exceptional finish on the counter-attack against champions City, initial evidence suggests that the Reds may be getting back to their best.
New central role
The upturn in form is a result of the German boss trialling a slightly more central role for his No11.
The Reds started in a 4-2-3-1 formation at Anfield last Sunday, with Salah the focal point and Harvey Elliott, Roberto Firmino and Jota tucked in behind him in a fluid system.
A major criticism of Liverpool this term has been that the dazzling Egyptian was not receiving the ball close enough to goal while featuring in his usual wide-right position.
Against City, Salah was able to start from out wide but also had license to move in field and bear down on goal.
And it was from exactly that position where he brought down Alisson’s long punt upfield, turned past Joao Cancelo and finished off his 76th-minute winner in confident style.
Darwin evolution
Of course, Salah’s new role may not be ideal for £64million summer signing Darwin Nunez.
It has not quite happened for the Uruguayan centre forward since his switch from Benfica, with the on-field relationship with Salah still in its infancy.
Former Premier League midfielder Paul Merson noted the lack of chemistry between the pair after Nunez replaced Firmino in the 72nd minute against Pep Guardiola’s men.
Merson said: “When Darwin Nunez came on, the worrying thing was that he didn’t pass the ball to Salah.
“It’s even more worrying that he didn’t even spot Salah’s run. They might play [Fabio] Carvalho or Harvey Elliott further up the pitch this week.
“With West Ham’s injuries at the back, this might be a good time to help Nunez with his game. With him on the pitch, however, you won’t get the best out of Salah.”
Centre stage
Putting together a consistent run of results is surely the priority for Klopp, meaning the German boss may have to continue to sacrifice Nunez’s development in order to get the best out of Salah.
A calf injury will now see fellow forward Jota ruled out until after the World Cup, suffering the same fate as Colombian star Diaz, who sustained a knee injury in the defeat to Arsenal.
That means Salah will have to take centre stage as the Reds look to keep the positive momentum going in the eight games before the club season pauses for the global showpiece in Qatar.
And with Egypt not qualifying for the event, a refreshed and confident Salah for the second half of the season could be bad news for the rest of the Premier League.
