Jamie Carragher points finger at Arne Slot over Mo Salah’s Liverpool struggles

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Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has suggested that Arne Slot asking more defensively more from Mohamed Salah could be contributing to his slow start to the season. The Egyptian forward has endured an inconsistent first few weeks of the campaign, having netted just three times.

That form follows a sensational campaign in which Salah scored 34 goals and fired Liverpool to the Premier League title. In attempting to find a reason for Salah’s stuttering form, Carragher believes that Slot’s decision to relinquish the 33-year-old of any defensive responsibility in past seasons could be a driving force.

And that has seen opponents target Salah’s side, which has consequently pushed the forward back. Writing in a column for The Telegraph , Carragher said: “From a purely football perspective, it has also been a period of change. After seven years in partnership with Trent Alexander-Arnold , Salah has played in front of four right-backs already this season; Conor Bradley, Jeremie Frimpong, Dominik Szoboszlai and, briefly, Wataru Endo.

“As across the Liverpool line-up, new relationships are forming, and those intuitive understandings must develop. The hope is always this will happen instantly. Realistically, it needs more than 10 games.

“There is an additional tactical adjustment impacting Salah. One of the reasons he was so effective last season is because Slot designed the team around a ‘risk and reward’ strategy with his main goalscorer.

“He encouraged him to stay up the pitch rather than consistently track back, trusting Szoboszlai, Alexander-Arnold or Ibrahima Konaté to cover the right side of Liverpool’s defence when the team was counter-attacked.

“The reshaping of the midfield, in addition to the changing personnel at full-back and Konaté’s inconsistent form, has enabled opponents to target Liverpool’s right side more productively.

“ Chelsea reaped the rewards for that with their late winner at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago. Blaming Salah for not helping his right-back enough is harsh given he is following the same instructions that helped Liverpool win so many games.”

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Salah will be hoping to reignite his form this weekend as Liverpool come up against fierce rivals Man United. And the Egyptian will be confident of doing just that, having bagged a joint career-high 16 goals against the Red Devils in just 17 appearances.

Following Sunday afternoon’s clash at Anfield, Liverpool will then turn their attention back to the Champions League , with an upcoming showdown against German side Eintracht Frankfurt.

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