Is Arne Slot getting the best out of Mohamed Salah for Liverpool?
Mohamed Salah has been a divisive figure at Anfield this campaign.
The Egyptian King delivered one of the greatest individual seasons ever seen at Liverpool last season, but there has been a noticeable drop off since.
Nobody believed that the 33-year-old would reach the same heights again this season, but he has looked completely ineffective for the majority of the season.
Some of that may be down to a natural decline that comes with age, but Arne Slot has to shoulder some of the blame too.
The way the Dutchman sets up his side now does not get the best out of Salah, and it is a massive problem.
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Why is Slot misusing Salah?
Supporters saw clear evidence last season that the Reds’ head coach knows exactly how to get the best out of Salah, but this season the Egyptian has been pushed closer to the touch line.
Salah’s role has changed this season, as was highlighted by Sam McGuire for FotMob, but Slot clearly isn’t married to his wingers’ new roles.
Against Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round Salah came alive, scoring and assisting in what was potentially his strongest performance of the season.
That game saw Salah revert to his inside forward role, taking 11 touches in Brighton’s box, creating four chances and having two shots on target.
Salah was allowed the freedom to come inside more against Brighton, and it worked.
On Tuesday night against Galatasaray the Egyptian put in one of his worst performances of the season, only managing one touch in the opposition box, failing to register a shot and not completing a single dribble before being hooked prior to the 60 minute mark.
The biggest difference from the Brighton game, aside from the opposition, was Salah’s position.
Once again the 33-year-old was deployed extremely wide, hugging the touch line and failing to make any meaningful impact at all on the match.
Liverpool’s set up as a whole looked blunt in Istanbul, but Salah especially looked set up for failure.
The only real alternative to Salah on the right-wing at the moment appears to be Jeremie Frimpong, but a better solution may be to play Salah in a narrower role and allow the Dutchman to overlap from right-back.
It is clear that Liverpool aren’t getting the best out of Salah right now, but the forward has shown that he is still capable of performing at the top level.
This may well be the Egyptian’s last season at the club, but tweaking his role to get the best out of him in the run-in is a win-win for everyone involved.
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