In-depth analysis: What is the root cause of Salah’s sharp decline?

In Liverpool's formation this season, Salah, the once rock-steady offensive core, suddenly lost his way forward. Although the data level is not as bleak as public opinion exaggerates, but combined with the background that he just signed a two-year new contract, the current performance level undoubtedly makes fans and the team deeply worried.

Compared with his peak performance last season, it is reasonable for Salah to have ups and downs this season - you know, last season he handed over gorgeous statistics of 29 goals and 18 assists in the Premier League, plus 10 goals in other competitions. This performance can be called one of the most dazzling seasons for an attacker in the history of the Premier League. Although he did not single-handedly lead Liverpool to the championship at that time, he was an irreplaceable core pillar in the team's championship journey.

Now that he is 33 years old, the impact of age has gradually appeared, and he has yet to develop a tacit chemical reaction with his new teammates. More importantly, Jota's sudden death has brought knock-on effects to Salah that are difficult to measure with data. Although these factors can certainly explain the decline in his performance this season, we have just ignored one of the core data indicators.

When "The Athletic" recently analyzed the root causes of Liverpool's struggling record this season, it listed Salah's sluggish state as one of the core factors. He only scored 5 goals and 3 assists in 15 games. Such data clearly needs adjustment for the team's top attacker. But if you pay attention to his possession of the ball this season, you will find that it is not easy to hand over such data.

The report shows that Salah only touched the ball 45.4 times per 90 minutes this season, a new low since the 2018-19 season. Coincidentally, although he had 30 Premier League goals and assists that season, it happened to be his fourth-worst season performance since joining the Red Army. Behind this data, it reflects that the frequency of teammates delivering offensive opportunities to him has dropped significantly.

Behind this phenomenon, it is not only the influence of Wirtz's tactical arrangement that he is more active on the left rather than the center, but also closely related to the fact that Arnold's long pass dispatching faded out of the tactical system due to leaving the team. But the core problem is that no matter which player serves as the right back, he will never be able to form effective tactical linkage with the No. 10 player. Slott's tactical system originally relied on the frontcourt triangle pass to form an offensive synergy. Now the left wing can still establish effective cooperation, but the right wing has never been able to establish a smooth offensive connection.

We are still eager to see Salah perform the "magic" of the past - in the past few years, he has already proved his creativity with countless wonderful performances. But when a top attacker is in a state of "ball hunger" for a long time, a decline in offensive efficiency is inevitable. If Slott cannot adjust the tactical system in time to activate the Egyptian star, based on current data, his final statistics this season may be only 14 goals and 7 assists.

This will be his worst single-season performance since joining the Red Army. If combined with his weekly salary of 400,000 pounds, the "cost" of each league goal will be close to one million pounds. What's more noteworthy is that with the African Cup of Nations approaching, Salah will most likely be called up by the national team, which will undoubtedly further reduce his output space in club competitions this season.

Putting aside the interference of age and off-field factors, the "2.0 tactical system" created by Slott obviously failed to fully unleash Salah's maximum potential. Perhaps the coaching staff made such a tactical arrangement considering that Salah has entered an advanced stage in his career, and there is another hidden meaning in it. But judging from the current performance, such a tactical configuration is indeed unsatisfactory.