Mohamed Salah isn’t failing – Liverpool are making him a scapegoat

Last Updated on 9 December 2025

The easiest thing in football is blaming the star when results dip. When goals dry up and performances stutter, the spotlight always burns brightest on the biggest name.

At Liverpool, that name is Mohamed Salah, and once again, the narrative has started to turn.

But the numbers tell a very different story. Let’s take a closer look at how Liverpool’s current turmoil is a systemic issue rather than an individual decline.

Mohamed Salah’s form not the biggest problem at Liverpool

Liverpool fans are currently in the state of an online civil war after Mohamed Salah’s comments about the club ‘throwing him under the bus’.

With the Egyptian King now left out of the squad for Liverpool’s match against Inter Milan, the situation looks a lot worse.

For what it’s worth, the output may have dried up for Salah this season, compared to his unbelievable campaign in 2024/25, his effort cannot be faulted. In fact, the 33-year-old is covering more distance for Liverpool despite playing fewer minutes across competitions.

Before Liverpool’s underwhelming draw at Leeds United when Salah did not feature for the full 90, the Egyptian had the third highest chances created in the Premier League.

This goes to show, that Salah has been putting in the same hard yards. But output in football is never guaranteed. Unfortunately for Salah, Arne Slot has a bigger problem at hand.

Liverpool spent around £400 million on new attackers in the summer. That means, Slot has to play his new signings but the new faces are taking more time to adjust. All this has led to results stagnating and pressure piling on Slot.

Mohamed Salah not the main man anymore

After a summer of revamping their attack, Liverpool are planning for life after Salah.

At the same time though, they made the 33-year-old their highest-paid player and handed him a two-year contract.

None of those decisions were solely based on Arne Slot’s wishes, as he is a ‘head coach’ rather than a manager. Despite that, he had to tweak the system to adjust the two most expensive arrivals in the Premier League, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz.

Hugo Ekitike was also brought in on big money and while all three attackers adjust to life at Liverpool, chances have dried up for Salah. The 33-year-old was the focal point of every attack for Liverpool in the last 8 years.

The tweak has led to Slot prioritizing defensive structure more, playing a midfielder, Dominik Szoboszlai, in place of Salah.

Arne Slot’s big gamble could backfire if results don’t pick up

While Liverpool’s season has been underwhelming from the first kick, there’s more pressure on Arne Slot to deliver now than before.

That’s because when you bench by far the best player in the Premier League from last season, you are making a huge gamble. And, if that gamble does not work, you will be in a whole lot of trouble.

For Slot, he has decided to bench Salah for more defensive stability. It has not worked as of late, with Liverpool surrendering a lead twice to newly-promoted Leeds United.

But if it continues, Slot might have to pay the price by being out of a job. After all, football is a cut-throat industry heavily reliant on results and that rings true for Mohamed Salah and Arne Slot.