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Who thought that an Egyptian winger who struggled to get game time during Jose Mourinho's Chelsea stint would take the English Premier League by storm the very next season he plays in it?
Mohamed Salah joined Liverpool for 39 million pounds in the summer of July 2017. Having earned the adulation of LFC boss Jurgen Klopp, the Egyptian winger was all set for a fruitful season at Anfield. A fairly impressive season at Fiorentina( Serie A) prompted high hopes from the fans regarding Salah. And boy, did he deliver.
Smashing records left, right and center, Salah set ablaze both the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League in the 2017-18 season. Scoring a total of 32 Goals and 10 assists in the league, and another 10 goals and 4 assists in the Champions League, he was more than successful in silencing any critics that doubted his skills after his near-about horrendous season at Chelsea under Mourinho.
This season however, has caused quite a few doubts over the Egyptian national team captain's consistency.
Salah has not been able to replicate his stellar performance from last season. Not even half of it. With only 4 Goals and 1 assist in 9 matches this season, times are hard for both the winger, and the club. Mind you, Liverpool are still unbeaten in the Premier League this season along with Chelsea and Manchester City.
But the creativity and sharpness of Mohamed Salah and his teammates, has disappeared. Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have also had relatively slow starts compared to last season's performances. What could be the possible reasons?
Lack of Creativity
With the departure of Philippe Coutinho to FC Barcelona last winter, Jurgen Klopp and the entirety of Anfield could see the absence of a prime playmaker to bolster their attacks. The addition of Alex-Oxalade Chamberlain provided some respite with impressive performances in important matches.
With blinding pace and sheer aggression, he would support the front trio in counter attacks and provided defensive support too. But with his injury in the Champions League Semifinal vs Roma, which sidelined him for this 18-19 season too, Liverpool were stuck in quick sand.
Naby Keita is a solid midfielder, but he lacks the creativity and the ability to create those defense breaking passes. This has caused a decrease in chances created for the front three, and hence much lesser goals to celebrate.
Injury in the Champions League Final
This was probably the most 'Sergio Ramos' moment of last season. Liverpool stood an equal chance to win the Champions League until a gruesome tussle with Ramos caused Salah to crash down onto the grass with his shoulder leaving him in rigorous pain.
Unable to continue further into the match, he was subbed off, and Liverpool lost their season's hero in the blink of an eye. That injury took away his clinical finishing, and it was well visible in Egypt's FIFA World Cup 2018 journey where they were knocked out in the group stages after Salah failed to shine.
Even though Salah started the season with Liverpool on Day 1, he was never 100% fit, and it is well visible how that injury has hampered not just his form, but his mentality towards matches.
Huge Expectations from the entire Football Universe
Having a season like Mo Salah had last season, isn't a common thing. How often do you see players in their debut season for a club smash the league record for total goals scored in a season? Everyone had the same question this summer.
Can Mo Salah do it again?
It was a momentous task and Salah has not been very convincing at it. With every chance squandered, tweets having the phrase 'One Season Wonder' start pouring in. This has had a huge effect on the psychology of the player, and the team as a whole too. Having to deal with the pressure of being compared to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, has apparently been to much to handle for Mo Salah.
The season is not over yet, and nobody knows how far Liverpool are going to go in their title aspirations for this season. But for anything significant to happen, Mohamed Salah needs to find form before it's too late. This is the Premier League. There is no waiting for anyone.
