Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has offered an explanation as to why Mohamed Salah’s form for the club seems to have dipped in recent times.
Salah has not looked himself recently, with the Egypt international drawing another blank as the Reds were in otherwise impressive form to beat Benfica 3-1 in Lisbon last night.
Liverpool have other world class options in attack, but they will surely need to have Salah firing again soon as they head into a crucial period in the season.
Klopp’s side take on Manchester City away from home this weekend in a game that is likely to end up being pivotal in the title race, which is currently extremely close.
Klopp looked to calm fears over Salah’s struggles, suggesting it’s mainly down to fatigue from playing so many high-stakes international games recently…
“It’s a tough period, both boys came back from Africa, it’s really not easy, massive pressure on their shoulders, both have to solve it for their countries. Their managers were part of that as well, to put it on them,” Klopp said in his post-match press conference, as shown in the video clip above.
“I think now he needs time to settle, that’s all. An important game for Mo and Sadio tonight, one could score the other one unfortunately not, but everything will be fine.”
Still, is Klopp perhaps overlooking the bigger issue here?
As everyone knows, Salah has still not signed a new contract with Liverpool, and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if that was starting to prove a distraction for him on the pitch.
The 29-year-old will surely want his future to be resolved as he approaches the final year of his current contract, and LFC would do well to get this done as quickly as possible, or else risk it majorly derailing their season when they need a fully focused and confident Salah most.