Liverpool star's title run-in 'criticism' is unfair after previous years performances

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has been unfairly criticised in recent weeks and with the title race run-in the main focus for the Reds, his performances have come into question.

The Egyptian returned from injury in February after a hamstring issue ruled him out of the Africa Cup of Nations and seven games for Liverpool and is yet to rediscover his top form, netting four times in nine games. It led to former Premier League winner Chris Sutton to say, ‘Salah has not been at his sharpest since he has come back from injury - he has been missing chances that you expect him to put away.’ on the BBC podcast the Football Daily prior to the Crystal Palace defeat at the weekend.

It led to a discourse on social media in which some fan outlets questioned Salah’s impact on games ‘when it matters’ - claiming he has the ability to go missing when his team need him. While he did pass up chances against Palace, his record across previous years is an interesting tapestry.

Across the last 10 games of the season in every campaign beginning in 2017/18, he has 41 goal involvements across 60 games which has resulted in one title and two final-day heartbreak defeats to Manchester City. Even last season, in which Liverpool finished fifth, he was key with seven goals and four assists to help his side recover from 10th place to finish in the Europa League places.

Analysing his form across the last five games shows any claims are unfair; he drew a blank against Man City in the 1-1 draw but he netted during the 2-1 win over Brighton, scored a late penalty in the draw against Man United and while he failed to score against Sheffield United, Liverpool were still worthy winners. The Palace game was frustrating for every Liverpool attacker and were thwarted by a dogged display from Dean Henderson and his defence.

Even the harshest critics would have be very unfair to call seven goal contributions in 10 games in a title run-in as poor. Players like Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz were perhaps in better form at the time of the 2018/19 and 2021/22 final set of games but Salah has been reliable when it matters, in terms of output. Their final set of league games contain difficult away trips to face West Ham, Fulham, Aston Villa, a Merseyside derby and a home game against Tottenham in which he can silence any doubters.