no way. That’s a painfully accurate way to sum up Liverpool’s form this season. Without such deep tactical rifts, disjointed players and non-existent belief in Arne Slott’s plan, the Premier League champions would never retain their belt.
The most worrying thing about Liverpool’s recent 3-0 loss to Josep Guardiola’s resurgent side in Manchester is that they were completely outplayed. Physically, mentally and tactically, Manchester City shone and the Reds were dazzled by their opponents’ superiority.
Jeremy Doku was outstanding as he was all over the place and in the second half he scored a brilliant goal past Ibrahima Konate. According to Sofascore, the Belgian winger completed seven out of eight dribbling attempts and created three chances.
Liverpool have had so many problems that their recent wins against Aston Villa and Real Madrid were little more than a semblance of a comeback as City confronted the Merceside club with a harsh reality.
One of the biggest concerns in the slot is Mohamed Salah’s continued slump. The Egyptian has been an unstoppable force for Liverpool for years, but at 33 he is at the forefront of a sinking ship and is struggling to regain more than a glimpse of his former greatness.
Mohamed Salah is in trouble
Will we ever see Salah at his best in a Liverpool shirt again? It’s entirely possible that the right winger expended incredible mental and physical energy to lead the club to the league title last season, scoring 34 goals and providing 23 assists across all competitions.
Almost three months into the new season, Slott’s second player in the dugout, Salah has been involved in eight goals, but his overall play and shooting accuracy has not been as good as in years. Salah is not himself.
Admittedly, this is worrying. Not only because Liverpool are playing out of form with their talisman, but Slott has shown reluctance to let Federico Chiesa go since the beginning of last season, and that is unlikely to change anytime soon.
How long will this situation last? Man City reduced Liverpool’s superstar to half-chances and a role within the defensive press. How many times has Salah praised Pep? How much control did he have against this greatest rival of the modern era?
mohamed salah vs man city | ||
|---|---|---|
competition | app | Goal (assist) |
premier league | 19 | 9(6) |
champions league | 2 | 2(1) |
community shield | 2 | 1(1) |
FA Cup | 2 | 0 (0) |
carabao cup | 1 | 1 (0) |
Dates via Transfermarkt | ||
Of course, all of this comes with the caveat that it would be much better if Salah was placed in a more fluent system. This has not been the case at all for the Anfield side this season.
Father Time, however, is not on the Premier League legend’s side and Salah, who signed a new two-year contract extension worth £400,000-a-week in April, has around 18 months to show that FSG have more than rewarded themselves in the end.
However, it is very likely that Salah is past his prime and Liverpool need to find a successor.
Even if there is, it’s a tedious job. But Liverpool actually have a prospect in Kirkby who has the necessary qualities to swipe the icon’s shirt.
Liverpool teenager who could take Salah’s number 11
Slott needs to find a solution to Liverpool’s current predicament, but let’s all take a breather for a moment. Liverpool are full of talent. Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz will be good players. But what’s more interesting is that the slot will soon have a wealth of teenage talent, and one of them will be better than the other.
Rio Ngmoja knew he was heading towards the upper echelons of the Premier League and that the youth system that had emerged since Jurgen Klopp’s arrival was a hotbed of hugely talented young stars.
Chelsea’s loss was Liverpool’s win. Ngmoha was plucked from Cobham in 2024 and made his professional debut midway through his first year on Merseyside in an FA Cup tie against Accrington Stanley.
A left-sided winger with incredible speed and dribbling, 17-year-old Ngmoha has the potential to become a superstar for Liverpool, with his physicality, athleticism and ferocious style of play giving him shades of Doc, the villain at Anfield last weekend.
It can be said that Ngmoha is an extraordinary talent. After all, he was one of the journalists Kieran Gill described as a ‘generational talent’ and he certainly showed his potential with a stunning goal on his Premier League debut, scoring the winning goal against Newcastle United at St James’s Park in August.
Since then, he has made sporadic appearances for the Redmen, making seven appearances in all competitions, but only started in the Carabao Cup, where he was part of a young group that was swept aside by Crystal Palace last month.
The era of Ngumoha is coming. He’s very fast and confident when he has the ball. He is one of the youngest goalscorers in Premier League history and this goal is sure to be the first of many.
Youngest scorer in Premier League history | ||
|---|---|---|
# | player | year |
1 | james vaughan | 16 years, 8 months, 27 days |
2 | james milner | 16 years, 11 months, 22 days |
3 | wayne rooney | 16 years, 11 months, 25 days |
4 | Ngumoha River | 16 years, 11 months, 26 days |
5 | Cesc Fabregas | 17 years, 3 months, 21 days |
Someone this young must have the luxury of time. Please take Doc. Blessed with such ferocity and quickness, Man City was often criticized for lacking the end product and elite decision-making.
Doc is only 23 years old and his performance against a struggling team in the slot last weekend showed the winger has reached a new level of maturity and technical understanding.
Ngmoha will get better and better with each passing year and could contribute this season, but this foundational year could blossom at the end of next term, when Salah is likely to leave, and he could step up to put on the shirt and become Liverpool’s new talisman.
Can Gumoha take the number 11 from Salah himself and reach those heights? Please pay attention to it. But Ngumoha makes it easy. It’s a treat to watch him play soccer, and he has the ability to not only emulate Doc’s style, but also become one of the best players in world soccer.
