Mohamed Salah has come under fire from several former footballers after a slow start to the season with Liverpool. Criticised for being “lazy” on the pitch and not performing at the level fans have come to expect, the Egyptian forward faces pressure to turn things around. After three consecutive defeats, Salah will be looking to rediscover his best form — starting this weekend against Manchester United.

Salah: An option, not a necessity?

Salah began the season brightly, scoring in the opener against Bournemouth, but struggled to find the net consistently afterward, not scoring again until a month later against Burnley. His last goal came in mid-September in the Champions League against Atlético Madrid, a notable dip compared to previous seasons.

Questions have arisen about his necessity in the starting XI, especially given Liverpool’s wealth of attacking talent. Outside of a few threatening runs down the wing, Salah has produced inconsistent performances, contributing to the team’s recent struggles before the international break.

With a squad full of expensive forwards, it has become easier to justify his absence from the lineup. Salah was left on the bench in Liverpool’s 1-0 Champions League defeat to Galatasaray, with Cody Gakpo, Hugo Ekitiké, and Florian Wirtz leading the attack. If his form doesn’t improve, manager Arne Slot may consider using a similar configuration again.

Time to get back on track

For Slot, there is no cause for alarm. “We’re not scoring as many goals as we did at the start of last season,” he explained. “It’s something we’re working very hard on, and the more we play together in this new configuration, the better it will be.”

Salah still has his coach’s confidence. In a team adjusting to departures and new arrivals, his challenge is to reinvent himself and regain momentum. And what better stage than against Liverpool’s arch-rivals, Manchester United?

The winger has historically thrived against the Red Devils, scoring 16 goals in 17 appearances. Encouragingly, he has also scored twice for Egypt in recent international duty against Djibouti, hinting that his form may be on the rise just in time for the big weekend clash.