Mohamed Salah has once again been criticised for his defensive work-rate following a lacklustre start to the season. Despite scoring three goals and providing three assists in 10 appearances so far this campaign, the Liverpool forward hasn’t been at his peak as Arne Slot’s revamped team continues to find its rhythm.
The Reds have suffered defeats in their last three games, with Salah failing to contribute a goal or assist in any of them. Slot made headlines when he benched Salah for last week’s loss to Galatasaray, and the forward faced further criticism after his performance in Saturday’s last-minute defeat to Chelsea.
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney criticised the Egyptian after the match, accusing him of ‘having an ego’ and hitting out at his lack of defensive effort.
Former Liverpool star Danny Murphy has now echoed these sentiments amid Liverpool’s recent dip in form, insisting that Salah needs to contribute more defensively to help his team-mates reverse their mini-slump.
“It was an obvious ploy from Chelsea and any full-back Liverpool use will need help when up against high-quality wingers.
“If you’re going to allow Salah that freedom to not track back, which I understand to a degree, because when you win the ball you’ve got him on transition in attack who happens to be the best goalscorer Liverpool have, then the midfield has to be quicker at adapting and getting out to the full back area.
“Too many times in the last week on the right side, then the right-back has been isolated. It’s something that needs work on the training ground.
“Or we tell Salah that he’s got to do his defending to get the balance right and be harder to beat. It’s not like he’s incapable of doing the running.
“At the moment, with United next up, I would be saying to him he’s got to do his work and help Liverpool be a bit harder to beat. They’ve shown they can do it against Arsenal, for example.”
In the wake of Chelsea’s triumph over Liverpool, Marc Cucurella disclosed that the Blues had specifically identified Salah as a weakness, with their dramatic stoppage-time winner ultimately exploiting the Reds’ vulnerable right flank.
“We know that Salah is always ready for the counter-attack so we practiced that and the manager said that the space might be there [on the right side of Liverpool],” the Spaniard told Sky Sports. “We saw that it was the last minute, but we kept attacking. I tried to give my last effort and Enzo gave me the ball and I crossed for Estevao.”
Salah has previously revealed that he had discussions with Slot about reducing his defensive duties to enhance his offensive contributions.
“Now I don’t have to defend much,” he shared with Sky Sports after Liverpool’s Premier League title win in April. “It is quite difficult to say one thing, but the tactics are quite different.
“But I told him (Slot); ‘As long as you rest me defensively, I will provide offensively’ – so I’m glad I did. It was the manager’s idea, of course, but he listens a lot.
“He’s the manager, of course, but he listens a lot, so I spoke to him and he bought the idea. You can see the numbers!”.
“To be fair it’s quite tricky, because when you play in the Premier League you have to defend also your left-back. But I spoke to him and told him; ‘I can gamble somehow – a little bit here or there – but when we get the ball I’m always free, so then I can make the difference’.
“I think my number of assists also shows that. It’s not only about goals, it’s also about creating chances and just making a difference for the team.”
Salah had an incredible season for Liverpool in 2024/2025, scoring 34 goals and providing 23 assists in his 52 appearances across all competitions, leading the Reds to Premier League victory. However, with Slot’s team currently struggling to replicate such form this season, despite being just one point behind Arsenal at the top of the table, Salah’s defensive contributions will continue to be under the microscope.