The football world is wondering what happened to Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah. The boots of the Egyptian, who scored goals in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, are not roaring as much as the team and fans would like. After six matches in the new Premier League season, the player managed to score only two goals. In the Champions League, Salah played for 62 minutes and Napoli beat Liverpool 4-1.
What is the reason behind Salah struggling to find form who was compared to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at one point in his career? Sadio Mane, who played shoulder to shoulder in previous seasons, left the club, Salah had to change his style to give space to youngster Darwin Nunes, and the poor performance of the Liverpool midfield.
But Liverpool legend and football pundit Graeme Sounas ‘blames’ Salah’s poor form on an Argentinian player. Lisandro Martinez, who plays as a full-back for Manchester United, is Salah’s villain in Sones’ language. Sones, who played 247 games for Liverpool and coached the club for three seasons, says Lisandro Salah was worn down in the Manchester-Liverpool game and he has not seen the old Salah since that game.
Says Sones, who analyzes the game for Sky Sports:
“I was watching Salah for Liverpool against Manchester United. Lisandro Martinez was with him for the first five minutes. For the rest of the game, Salah was seen looking at Martinez’s whereabouts. I haven’t seen the old Salah since that day.’
“Salah has got the deal he wanted. But if he stops at half a percent or one percent at this level, he won’t be the same player he was.’ – Sones said he is saying this as a Liverpool fan and wants Salah to prove his observation wrong.
While Salah struggles to excel, defender Lisandro Martinez is in top form. The star, who moved to Manchester this season from Ajax, has moved team captain Harry Maguire to the side bench and has become a key player in the back line of the team. Lisandro’s performance was crucial as Manchester moved up to fifth in the points table after defeating four teams, including Liverpool and Arsenal, after losing their opening two matches. Despite a good performance against Real Sociedad in the Europa League, the team lost at home due to a controversial penalty conceded by Martinez.