Mohamed Salah is rightly considered one of Liverpool’s best-ever players, but his form in the 2025-26 season has been quite poor, and some people are wondering if his age or a change in tactics has led to his loss of form.
The Egyptian did one of the most incredible seasons in the club’s history in 2024-25, yet he has not been able to reach the same level. Last year, the 32-year-old scored 34 goals and made 23 assists in 52 matches in all competitions, of which 29 goals and 18 assists were in the Premier League alone, while Liverpool FC achieved the title in the Premier League.
What is more, the figures for this season are significantly down. After 32 games, Salah is only able to score nine goals and eight assists in all competitions, a sharp contrast to the 40 goal involvements he was able to achieve at the same stage last season.
Initial whispers that the culprit was his age; however, tactical aspects under Arne Slot might be a factor as well. Salah is also recording his lowest rate of touches inside the opposition penalty area, apart from averaging fewer shots per 90 minutes than in any other season at Anfield.
Besides, the tactical responses of the opponents have also formed a factor. Primarily, teams have used low defensive blocks against Liverpool, which has meant the area where Salah used to show off his fast pace and skills by dribbling the defenders has essentially been forbidden to him.
Creatively, even if his attacking production has gone down, he is still a major influence as he continues to produce chances for his teammates at a quite good rate.
In advance of those must-win games, including some main matches of the Champions League, Liverpool would like both player and system to recover the pattern that led to Salah being so deadly last season.
