LIVERPOOL/ LONDON: Mohamed Salah outshone Neymar and Kylian Mbappe on the Champions League stage last season, but as Paris Saint-Germain’s star duo head to Anfield on Tuesday seeking to make amends, the Egyptian is struggling to match the heights of his debut campaign at Liverpool.
Salah’s failure to hit top form dates back to his last Champions League appearance four months ago.
Back in May, Salah was on the crest of a wave as his 44-goal campaign had carried Liverpool to the Champions League final and ensured qualification for this season’s competition.
However, he lasted just 30 minutes in Kiev after injuring his shoulder when wrestled to the ground by Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos and the Spanish giants went on to lift the trophy in a 3-1 win.
That started a difficult few months for Salah as he was also robbed of being 100-percent fit for Egypt’s first World Cup in 28 years.
Without their talisman, the Pharaohs were beaten by Uruguay in their opening game and his goals against Russia and Saudi Arabia couldn’t prevent Egypt returning home without a single point.
That hangover has been felt on the field with Salah scoring just twice in Liverpool’s opening five games of the campaign and missing chances he ruthlessly put away last season.
So far Salah’s slackness hasn’t cost Jurgen Klopp’s men. A summer of shrewd investment to build on the already substantial progress made under the German is already bearing fruit with five straight wins.
“Of course, it’s important that we don’t have only one goal-scorer,” Klopp said after an impressive 2-1 win over Tottenham on Saturday that should have been a far more comprehensive victory if the visitors had taken their chances. “It’s still early. Five games, fantastic we’ve won all of them, we have improved.”
A blockbuster clash on a Champions League night at fortress Anfield is however the perfect stage for Salah to demonstrate to the world he is no one-season wonder.
