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Man Utd news
- 25 minutes ago
Salah is Liverpool's big problem: 'Couldn't believe what I was watching'
Tom Weber
- Updated: 12 Nov 2025 15:09 GMT
- 4 min read
News
Mohamed Salah has come in for scathing criticism from former Liverpool player Danny Murphy after Sunday's 3-0 loss to Manchester City.
The Reds failed to put up much resistance at the Etihad and undid much of the promise they had shown in the preceding games against Eintracht Frankfurt, Aston Villa and Real Madrid.
Arne Slot still has not found a way of getting the best out of his marquee signings, and the pressure on the Dutchman is mounting. Liverpool now look firmly out of the Premier League title race, despite a record spend on summer recruits.
Current ETV
Mohamed Salah
F (CR), M (R)
Liverpool
Mohamed Salah
F (CR), M (R)
Liverpool
ETV Range
€36.1M - €44.1M
However, it is not only the likes of Milos Kerkez, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz that are underperforming so far this term. Mohamed Salah, last season's PFA Player of the Year, looks a shadow of his former self.
The Egyptian is no longer decisive in front of goal, his decision-making is poor and his passing has been shocking in some of the games this season. According to former Reds star Danny Murphy, an even bigger worry is Salah's lack of defensive effort.
Murphy: Salah needs to help the team
Liverpool's massive success last season was built on the freedom Salah was given by head coach Arne Slot. The Dutchman allowed the winger to stay forward and not worry about defending as much as he had to under Jurgen Klopp, allowing him to be devastating on the counter.
However, Liverpool have moved away from this style of play this term, and this means that Salah's role should have evolved with the rest of the team. But it hasn't, and this was a big problem against Man City.
"Giving Salah the license to not defend against a left-back who loves going forward and isn't even a left-back in [Nico] O'Reilly, who has been brilliant recently - I couldn't believe what I was watching, to be honest," Murphy thundered on talkSPORT.
"I don't know how he [Slot] can keep watching the same thing and not change it, and it's not like Salah can't do the running, he hasn't asked him to see if he can. He doesn't have to do it every single time, but he has spent so long not doing it.
"I vividly remember the City away game last season when Liverpool won 2-0, and he did loads of defending. When you see Jeremy Doku having the start he did, and [Conor] Bradley is having a tough time with him, and O'Reilly is flying, your brain just goes, 'we are 1-0 down, I am going back.'
"Last season, Salah came out and said he was enjoying it more because he doesn't have to defend as much as he did with Klopp. But it's just time and time again. I don't think he needs to be dropped because he's such a threat, but I think you've got to tell him to defend."
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