Liverpool’s superstar is now as lazy as Mo Salah

Liverpool are currently in the depths of a crisis, with doubts arising over Arne Slott’s ability to lead the team forward from the dugout, with no time for respite from an astonishing slump.

PSV Eindhoven performed well at Anfield, winning 4-1 in the Champions League. It was just days after Nottingham Forest sent the Reds into a spin after winning 3-0 at Anfield. This is new and dangerous territory.

The palatial stadium, long feared, has become a feast for visitors this season. Slott believes he has FSG’s backing despite Liverpool’s worst run of form in 71 years – and to be fair, the Dutch manager’s side are the current Premier League champions – but this is not just a disaster, it’s a disaster.

On Sunday, Liverpool face West Ham United in London, desperate to turn things around and get their domestic campaign back on track. It would be redundant to say the Merseyside outfit need to go back to basics. To say we should stop making stupid mistakes would be to emphasize a theme that can be traced back to the first day of the campaign.

Liverpool are facing a big problem and Slott doesn’t seem to have the answer. There are many different parts to this mess to analyze, but is Mohamed Salah’s struggle heating up and should he be sacked now?

Why slots should consider removing Salah

Federico Chiesa has not been given a starting spot in the Premier League this season. In fact, the Italian only played from the opening whistle in the Carabao Cup.

Salah has suspended his club activities, with one month left until he departs for Morocco for the 2025 African Cup of Nations. In that case, Slot will need to find new and broader solutions, so why not help create consistency in advance?

Let’s make no mistake: Liverpool’s legendary forward has been incredibly out of form this season.

The 33-year-old hasn’t had a particularly good record on the continent, but the less physical style of the Champions League allows the Egyptian to play with some freedom. According to Sofascore, Salah has won only 29% of his duels in the Premier League this season and has only completed 30% of his dribbles.

Is there an element of laziness creeping into his game? To be fair, the veteran winger wasn’t the most combative of defenders, but his incredible versatility allowed him to step forward and play in a looser manner, for example in transition.

But now that the goals and assists have dried up, Salah is struggling and questions have arisen as to whether he should step down.

Of course, he’s not the only one. Last year’s other mainstay in the slot has declined, and there are arguments that his position is one that requires attention.

Liverpool superstar has become ‘lazy’

Last season, Ryan Gravenbirch became the unexpected catalyst for the midfield to lift the Premier League title. For his efforts, the Dutchman was awarded the Young Player of the Year award in the same category.

Graven Birch isn’t the problem, but his underperformance this season is symptomatic of the deep gulf the team has fallen into in the slot. After the defeat against PSV, Liverpool World gave the 23-year-old a match rating of 4/10, writing about how, despite attracting attention with his passing in the first half, he was unable to protect struggling defenders.

At first glance, Graben-Birch’s play wasn’t too bad. He completed 88% of his passes, created chances, won all three duels on the ground and recovered five balls (data by Sofascore).

However, the Dutch international’s lack of physicality undermined his technical strengths, and he lacked the aggression and positional value needed to defend the No. 6 fortress.

Journalist Jan Riha picked up on this, saying that in the match against PSV, he had become his old, lazy self. Indeed, Gleifenberg had a successful first season at Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp, before Slott came along and turned him into a superstar.

FSG have known for some time that Liverpool needed reinforcements to maintain their midfield position. In 2023, the highest bid in British history was made for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo. The Ecuadorian instead joined Chelsea, who signed Wataru Endo as a stopgap.

Then, as Slott’s reign began, Liverpool made a deal for Martin Zvimendi from Real Sociedad, but a deal was not reached. The arrival of Grabenberch alleviated some of that frustration, but it’s clear that an anchor midfielder has been needed for some time, and Liverpool haven’t been able to land one.

Alexis Mac Allister’s form is so bad that Gravenbirch can’t afford to run around box-to-box in midfield. Liverpool need him to be stronger and more commanding in deep positions.

The slot needs more energy and intensity from all players, but Gravenwerch is the central nucleus, and while Salah has understandably faced a lot of criticism for his disastrous campaign, the Dutch midfielder’s own struggles have been somewhat overshadowed.

Consistently this season, teams have found it far too easy to play against Liverpool, often carving them open like Christmas turkeys. Grabenberch needs to get stronger and Liverpool need to get stronger too. That’s all for the short term, but isn’t it clear that FSG will need to sign a No. 6 like Fabinho in the future?