"Off the pace" - Mark Lawrenson on Mohamed Salah's form

Pundit Mark Lawrenson has criticised Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah.

The Egyptian international has been a bit off the pace so far this season. Salah just doesn't look as sharp as he normally does.

With that being the case, Lawrenson said the following about the 30-year-old.

As quoted by The Boot Room, he told talkSPORT: “Take the likes of Salah, he’s just another one off the pace and at the moment everything he tries, nothing comes to fruition.

“He’s not suddenly become a bad player overnight, he’s probably frightened to death about the fact that (Erling) Haaland’s already got so many goals, so he’s not going to win the Golden Boot.”

Anfield Watch Verdict

To be fair to Salah, he has still scored five goals and registered four assists in 12 appearances for Liverpool this season.

The winger has also averaged a WhoScored player rating of 7.20 across the early stages of the 2022-23 campaign.

The aforementioned figures highlight that Salah has been performing reasonably well. However, the 30-year-old has set such high standards over the years.

Salah has won three Premier League Golden Boots. So, when the forward is slightly off the pace, people are quick to criticise him.

There is no denying that Salah can improve on his recent performances. But, he certainly hasn't been Liverpool's worst player in the early stages of the 2022-23 campaign.