Michael Owen has offered his thoughts on Mohamed Salah’s slow start to the season with Liverpool, suggesting it’s likely just a temporary dip in form.
Wayne Rooney is among those who have questioned whether the Reds were right to hand Salah a new contract, arguing that the Egyptian’s best years may now be behind him.
However, Owen has backed the Liverpool talisman to rediscover his touch in the coming weeks, something that will be made easier if his teammates continue their recent improvement.
Liverpool returned to winning ways on Wednesday with a dominant 5-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, as Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz impressed in attack.
The performance leaves manager Arne Slot with a big decision to make regarding Salah’s role ahead of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Brentford.
“Salah has been scoring goals for years and years,” Owen told Sky Bet. “Nobody would be surprised if he scored in his next game and went on a run.
“If there’s anyone in the Premier League you shouldn’t doubt, it’s him.
“That said, if there’s something more going on, then age could be a factor – he’s 33 now. I retired at that age myself, so you can’t go on forever. That’s one possible reason.
“Another is that there’s no Trent Alexander-Arnold feeding him those balls anymore – the dynamic has changed. Conor Bradley plays differently; he looks to run past Salah rather than serve him.
“I did some analysis on TV showing that Salah is picking up the ball about 10 per cent deeper on average than last season.
“The tactics haven’t changed, but the personnel have. Or it could just be that the team isn’t firing yet.
“Every attacking player goes through a spell like this. It’s more likely just a blip, and he’ll bounce back soon, but it could be a bit of all the above.”
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