Expert: No Need to Drop Salah from Starting Lineup, but He Must Be Reminded to Step Up Defensively

A Camel.live expert analyzed Mohamed Salah, stating there’s no need to exclude him from the starting lineup, but he must be reminded to improve his defensive work.

The expert said: “Salah doesn’t have to defend against an overlapping full-back—even someone like Nico O’Reilly, who’s been in great form lately. To be honest, I can’t believe what I’m seeing. I don’t know how he (Arne Slot) can keep watching the same thing happen. Salah can run; Slot just never asks him to.”

“Salah doesn’t need to track back every time, but he hasn’t done it in ages. I clearly remember Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Manchester City last season—he did a ton of defensive work. When you see Jeremy Doku’s performance early on, James Bradley being run ragged, and O’Reilly left completely unmarked, you think: ‘We’re 1-0 down, I have to help defend.’”

“Last season, Salah publicly said he’s enjoying football more now because he doesn’t have to take on so many defensive responsibilities like he did under Jürgen Klopp. But this situation keeps happening. I don’t think we need to drop him from the starting lineup because he’s still extremely threatening, but I do believe he must be reminded to step up defensively.”