Liverpool icon and ESPN pundit Steve Nicole expressed his concern on Mohamed Salah's dip in form after the Reds' 4-1 win against Newcastle United on January 31. Nicol reckons Salah's confidence is low because the Egyptian King is struggling to get the basics right and no longer seems comfortable on the ball.
Mohamed Salah's disappointing outing vs Leeds
Liverpool displayed strong performance to come from behind to secure all three points. Hugo Ekitike (41',43'), Floria Wirtz (67'), and Ibrahima Konate (90+3') were amongst the goals, while Salah produced an impressive assist for Wirtz.
Despite playing 84 minutes, Mohamed Salah had a disappointing game as per his standards. The 33-year-old only completed 15 passes from an attempted 23 (65 percent accuracy), and had zero shots on target from two attempts, missing one big chance in the process. He also completed zero dribbles and delivered two accurate crosses from six attempts, per FotMob.
During his analysis, Nicole noted one play which confirmed his fears on Salah's decline. Despite being played through on goal, the latter struggled to control the ball well, letting Kieran Trippier to win a goal kick in the first half. This led to Nicol telling ESPN:
"We’ve all been asking the same question, how can you go from there to there so quickly. Generally it takes a bit of time when you start losing a bit of pace and your balance and all these things."
"Trippier doesn’t play every week because Trippier’s legs have gone. He’s a guy on the other side of his career. Today Mo Salah had four yards on him. A ball was played through by Szoboszlai, could’ve been a little firmer, that would’ve helped him, but Trippier caught him comfortably."
He added:
"And Salah, actually, at no stage during that little passage looked comfortable on the ball. He doesn’t look comfortable on the ball, he’s got a guy who’s legs we do know have gone catching him after giving him a three-yard start. That’s got to be alarm bells."
He then spoke on Salah's confidence:
"There’s nothing worse for a footballer when you realise you’re losing things and you’re not quite sure why, but it affects every single thing that you do. Now when he’s giving it away it’s just chipping away at his confidence. That confidence looks as though it’s shot because any time he gets into any sort of position where he used to pick the top corner out he can’t get anywhere close anymore."
Salah has had an quiet campaign for Liverpool to date, producing six goals and dropping six assists in 24 games across all competitions.
Ibrahima Konate opens up after scoring against Newcastle
Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate has expressed his happiness after scoring a goal during their 4-1 win against Newcastle United in their Premier league game. The Frenchman also admitted that he and his family faced a tough time over the last two weeks after his father sadly passed away.
Following the game, Konate told TNT sports:
"For sure I'm very happy. I don't have words to describe what I feel right now because it was a very difficult moment for me and my family the last two weeks. But this is part of life. It's very hard to accept but we didn't have a choice to do it."
He added:
"I saw the team, we had some injured players. The manager said to me I can take my time, I don't have to rush back. But with this situation I think it was important for me to come back and help the team. I think this is what I did today with the team, with Anfield. The atmosphere was unbelievable today. This is what we need until the end of the season."
Liverpool are currently sits at fifth in the Premier League table with 39 points from 24 games, one point behind fourth-placed Chelsea. They will next lock horns against Manchester City on February 8.