It will sound silly to all of you but I have to admit that I feel a profound sadness at seeing Salah’s desperate attempts at tracking back and playing defence, even more than when I see his latest attempts at finishing one-on-ones or trying to go past his marker.
The end of the season can’t come soon enough for a lot of our players, more so for him because I don’t want him to be pitied for a dismal final year where the entire team got stuck in the transition between old and new, and the tactical focus shifted from Salah to Wirtz and Ekitike.
Yes it’s too painful and I often have to cover my eyes when the camera is pointed in his direction.
I honestly don’t know how he gets on the pitch atm.
To problem is you can the isolated examples of his sheer world class quality. The ball he put in that Elitike should have buried was just out of this world.
It’s the running he can’t do anymore. The pace has just gone.
A good point I heard (sorry can’t remember where) on Salah was that based on the stats, while his pace has gone, what hasn’t diminished is his stamina. Whatever he has on 5mins, he still has on 85.
I think on the eye he does seem to grow into a more effective player as those around him tire.
Which begs the question why he’s playing 90mins every game. Why is slot prioritising the ego of one player over the team? The isolated examples were enough last season because the structure was in place for it to be so.
Unbeaten in 12 whilst he was away, back to losing games with him back. Is it just coincidence?
Szobo had some games in that position (Wirtz also had one or two I think), he might play there at times again when we get Gomez or Frimpong back.
With our current shape, I think we’ve opted letting Salah really high and hoping that he converts something. Though he’s not doing great (and isn’t the only one of course).
Mohamed Salah mourns grandfather’s passing in Egypt
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah is grieving the loss of his grandfather, Ahmed Abdel Aziz Al Bambi, who passed away on Monday morning, according to local Egyptian media reports.
The news was confirmed by Abdel Aziz Al Bambi, Salah’s uncle and chairman of the Mohamed Salah Youth Center, who expressed profound sorrow and requested prayers for mercy and forgiveness for the deceased. Funeral prayers are set for the Grand Mosque of Musa in the village of Nagrig, followed by immediate burial, with the local community expected to attend in large numbers.
Salah, Egypt’s all-time leading goalscorer, featured for Liverpool in their Premier League clash against Manchester City on Sunday night. It remains uncertain whether the 33-year-old forward will be able to return to Egypt in time to attend the funeral given the tight schedule.
The winger has long been a source of immense pride in his hometown of Nagrig, where he established the youth center to support local talent.
