Mohamed Salah can prove his Liverpool decline is temporary in Man City clash

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Of the on-field reasons behind the difference between Liverpool’s Premier League performance level this season and last season, one is particularly obvious. The stark drop in Mohamed Salah’s output.

After he had teed up the Florian Wirtz goal in the win over Newcastle United at Anfield last weekend, a statistic emerged that he now has the Premier League record for the most goal involvements at a single ground. But that was hardly a cause for celebration.

National service means that Salah has only started 14 Premier League matches this season - and appeared in two as a substitute - so a tally of five assists is not spectacularly bad. But after 16 Premier League appearances last season, Salah had recorded 11 assists and scored 15 goals.

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After 16 Premier League appearances this season, Salah has four goals to his name. No matter how much his game has been affected by the changes in personnel - from his point of view, the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold being the most significant - it is indisputable that Salah has been some way below his vintage best in the 2025/26 campaign.

In fact, he has been some way below his best since signing a new two-year contract in April of last year. In his 23 Premier League appearances since putting pen to paper, Salah has scored six goals and registered six assists.

In the 23 Premier League appearances leading up to his new contract, he scored 22 goals and registered 12 assists. If there is an ideal opponent for Salah to face in his quest to recapture something close to his top form, then it is Manchester City.

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He has been one of THE central characters in the Premier League’s greatest modern rivalry. In 24 games across all competitions against Pep Guardiola’s side, Salah has scored 13 times and made eight assists. He only has more goals (16) against Spurs and Manchester United.

No other player has been involved in more Premier League goals against City (15) in the history of the competition. His performances against City disprove any sort of theory that Salah is not a big-game player.

Salah’s infamous mixed zone interview at Elland Road did not, in general, go down well with the Liverpool fanbase, with pundits and, for that matter, with Arne Slot. But both the fanbase and Slot were relatively quick to show forgiveness, Salah getting a fine ovation before leaving for Africa Cup of Nations duty.

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His assist in that match against Brighton was one of three in his five Liverpool games since the outburst in Leeds, but one of those three was a corner and another was a gentle tap from a set-piece to allow Dominik Szoboszlai to fire in a pearler. He has scored once post-Elland Road, a nice hit against hapless Qarabag in a six-goal formality.

But it has been noticeable from some while ago that he has not carried the sort of goal threat that has characterised so much of his time with Liverpool. Again, the change in the make-up of this side has obviously had an effect on a role that had become so defined over the years, but there has been a hesitancy about Salah’s work that is distinctly unfamiliar.

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Salah’s record as a Liverpool player is so phenomenal that he can be allowed even an extended spell of indifferent form but when a 33-year-old has an extended spell of indifferent form, it poses an obvious question. Is the decline temporary? Or is it permanent?

My money is on it being temporary. And my money is on him proving it in a fixture that has so often showcased his class.

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