"Ridiculous" - James Pearce on claim regarding Mohamed Salah

Journalist James Pearce has defended Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah.

The Egyptian international had no real impact in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park last Saturday.

To be honest, Salah has not quite looked the same in recent times.

Former Red Graeme Souness has even said that the 30-year-old might have relaxed a bit since signing a new long-term contract with Liverpool earlier this summer.

However, Pearce does not agree.

“For most of a chaotic derby, which somehow finished goalless, Salah remained stationed out on the right and largely on the periphery,” he wrote for The Athletic.

“This wasn’t a one-off. It’s been a theme running through the opening month of the season.

“That’s not a criticism of Salah and the idea that the 30-year-old has somehow eased off on the back of a bumper pay rise is ridiculous. This isn’t Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or Mesut Ozil revisited.

“It’s more that Liverpool, who have taken just nine points out of a possible 18, simply aren’t functioning effectively as a unit. The balance isn’t right and tactically, they are failing to get the best out of their most potent attacking weapon.”

Anfield Watch Verdict

We completely agree with Pearce's take. The reality is, Salah has worked far too hard to get to where he is in his career to take his foot off the pedal.

It is a well known fact that the Egyptian international works extremely hard on his game. Salah is certainly putting in a shift when he is out on the pitch.

But, the reality is, he isn't always going to be at the top of his game. Salah is only human at the end of the day.

We are confident that he will bounce back.