Liverpool: Michael Owen explains Mohamed Salah’s dip in form
For Michael Owen, age and the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold would be the main causes of Mohamed Salah’s current decline at Liverpool.
Mohamed Salah @Le10Sport
Having scored only three goals and provided two assists in nine Premier League matches, Mohamed Salah is experiencing a mixed start to the season with Liverpool. An unusual situation for the Egyptian winger, usually so consistent since his arrival at Anfield.
Invited to give his analysis on Sky Bet (via GOAL), Michael Owen, the former iconic Reds striker, put forward several explanations for this dip in form. “Salah has been scoring for years. If there’s one player in the Premier League you should never doubt, it’s him,” Owen first pointed out. “That said, age could play a part — he’s 33 now. I retired myself at that age, so you can’t go on forever. That’s one possible explanation.“
But for the 2001 Ballon d’Or winner, the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who moved to Real Madrid this summer, has also disrupted the Reds’ attacking dynamics. “Trent no longer plays those balls to him. Conor Bradley plays differently; he looks more to get past opponents rather than to set Salah up. I did an analysis on TV that shows Salah is receiving the ball around 10% lower on the pitch than last season.” Despite that, Owen remains confident: the Egyptian genius has already shown he can bounce back. And if he quickly rediscovers his bearings, he could well become once again the nightmare of English defences.