Mo Salah struggles as he suffers difficult Liverpool first

Mo Salah struggled on Wednesday as Liverpool beat Marseille in the UEFA Champions League. He's going through a first.

Liverpool welcome Mo Salah back into their starting XI on Wednesday in France. The Egyptian faced off against Marseille in the UEFA Champions League and the Reds put in a brilliant performance to win 3-0.

It was as secure and comfortable a display as they've managed all season long, in truth. This is the Liverpool we're supposed to see week after week but things haven't quite clicked in that manner.

The job for Arne Slot is to ensure that happens. Build on this and get Liverpool firing with consistency because a performance like that will beat most teams with ease.

However, it was notable that Salah didn't affect the game all that much. He's currently struggling with a first since he moved to Anfield.

Mo Salah's struggles

The Mo Salah moment from that match that will stand out in everyone's mind is when he was through on goal but absolutely shanked his effort wide. He'd tried to take the shot with the outside of his left foot but miscalculated completely, thumping it with his laces and sending it out for a goal kick.

Salah at his best finishes that without much fuss. It was his bread and butter just a year ago, in fact.

So what's happened? Many will say he's finished or he's declined or that he's just not the player he was a year ago. Now, the latter two may be true but you've got to remember how a player declines.

They don't suddenly lose their ability to kick a football. Nor do they forget how to finish. Instead, they don't have the same burst that they did. Players don't move as smoothly and they find they're a second off the pace compared to younger players.

And maybe that's true for Salah! But that miss wasn't a sign of him being past it - it was a sign of things just not coming naturally to him for the first time.

Because things have been essentially flawless since Salah joined Liverpool and rapidly developed into one of the world's best players. He hasn't struggled with form particularly often, nor has his position been under threat.

Salah has never snatched at chances or anything like that. Right now, though, he absolutely is and it must be because he's actually suffering from doubts for once.

Eager to impress? To prove people wrong? Salah isn't playing naturally and getting his head back on the right track is vital for Liverpool and Slot right now.

Maybe it's time to embrace a more central role? Something less reliant on bursts of pace. Because finding the magic formula to getting Salah confident and in rhythm will almost certainly deliver an elite player once again.

That terrible miss in France was a sign that Salah has a problem. Fortunately, it's a problem that can absolutely be fixed.

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