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Liverpool FC
Arne Slot confident Mo Salah can overcome goalscoring drought
3 hours ago
LFC forward Mohamed Salah is in his worst goalscoring drought of his Premier League career but head coach Arne Slot is confident it is something he will overcome.
Mohamed Salah has won the Golden Boot four times since arriving at Anfield in 2017, the latest in last season’s title-winning campaign, but has gone nine league matches without finding the net.
That is his worst run in the English top flight but Slot said while the criticism was to be expected because of the 33-year-old’s high standards it was not a cause for a concern as it was a problem afflicting all his forwards.
Arne Slot said:
“He set his own standards and those are so high and the moment he doesn’t score for a few games people are immediately surprised – that is the biggest compliment he can get,” said Slot.
“With data you can use it to your advantage or disadvantage but not to use the FA Cup game – if we play a Premier League side – you could argue if that is fair.
“Three games ago he had an assist and a goal against a very good Premier League team in Brighton so that is the reality and then you can change data and say he did not score in nine Premier League games.
“We are used to Mo Salah scoring a lot of goals and at this moment in time that is maybe the biggest difference in his performance and game time.
“But we also know this has happened before, I don’t know if it happened nine games in a row but I’ve had these questions earlier if he didn’t score for three or five but I know in the end he always starts scoring again.
“He is not our only attacker at this moment in time that doesn’t score as much as we are used to.
“The focus is totally on him because of everything he did for the club but Hugo and Cody haven’t scored that many goals recently as well. It is a team thing which we have to improve.”
While Ekitike’s position is not under immediate threat – he has scored seven league goals since Salah’s last in the top flight on November 1 and is the only recognised centre-forward in Alexander Isak’s continued absence with a broken bone in his leg – there is increased scrutiny on Gakpo.
He has scored just two league goals during Salah’s drought and he has had an extra month due to the Egyptian’s Africa Cup of Nations involvement and that has been compounded by some poor individual performances.
His place is coming under threat from teenager Rio Ngumhoa, whose momentum-changing impact off the bench at Nottingham Forest on Sunday led the likes of former Reds defender Jamie Carragher to insist he must now make his first Premier League start.
Slot added:
“That is something special for a 17-year-old to be hyped like he is,”
“He is handling that situation really well which is a big compliment to him but also his parents that he is down to earth, works really hard and doesn’t lose his head because a few pundits have given feedback about his game.
“That is something you need if you want to make the next step because if you start believing how special you are after a few comments from pundits, that is probably not the way to become the player he wants to become.”
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