Liverpool suffered yet another defeat as they lost 2-1 to Manchester United in Premier League at Anfield with pressure mounting on manager Arne Slot with four consecutive losses this season.
Since their FA Community Shield defeat against Crystal Palace, the Reds had a flying start winning their first five league games only to suffer defeats in the next three, four overall including the Galatasaray defeat in Champions League.
The reigning Premier League champions were rocked back by an early goal from Bryan Mbuemo in the second minute of the game. The hosts equalized through Cody Gakpo in the 78th minute but a late header from Harry Maguire saw them clinch a historic win at Anfield after eight long years.
Liverpool never looked in control even when they were in the ascendency as they were rushing with the final ball and were also extremely wasteful in front of goal.
While there have been a lot of criticism around Liverpool's new signings - Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, Milos Kerkez and Hugo Ekitike, their veteran players also haven't stepped up in the last four games.
Mohamed Salah, who was in scintillating form last season, has looked like a shadow of himself in this campaign as he was poor against Chelsea and delivered another underwhelming performance against United.
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The Egyptian is hailed as one of the modern-day greats for Liverpool and rightfully so and therefore he has not received enough flak for his performances. He has gone seven games in the English top flight without scoring a non-penalty goal.
Recognizing, the 33-year-old's performances this season, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has urged Slot to bench Salah in the upcoming games due to his struggles this season.
“I think we're at that stage now where Mo Salah shouldn't be a guaranteed starter every week. I do think this is a real conundrum for the manager going forward," Carragher told on The Gary Neville podcast.
Carragher feels Salah shouldn't be a guaranteed starter at Liverpool
Salah has been struggling since the start of the season as he has only registered four goal contributions this season in the Premier League.
However, despite all that, he continues to be a guaranteed starter for the Reds even when he isn't going through his best form.
Carragher has urged Slot to take some tough calls and wants the Dutchman to rest the Egyptian forward for the next few games.
"I don't think Salah should be like a Virgil van Dijk where it's like 'first name on the team sheet'. Liverpool have got two away games - in the Champions League at Frankfurt and then they go to Brentford. I don't think Salah should start both of those games.
"He should always start at Anfield because Liverpool will be on top, around the edge of the box and more often than not he scores in those situations today. But I do think in the away games and helping your full-back, I don't think Salah should be starting every game right now, certainly away from home, with the form he's in."
Carragher understands that Salah may be not accept such a role, but he wants the Egyptian icon to understand that certain things need to change with age and performances.
"Would he be OK with that? Probably not. But when you get to a certain age you have to understand that, especially when you're not playing well, where's your argument? It's different if you're banging in the goals and your manager makes a tactical decision, and you're frustrated. I don't think Mo Salah's in any position to complain if he was left out of one of the next two away games."
It will be interesting to see if Slot continues to start Salah in Liverpool's upcoming game against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on October 22.
Liverpool news and related links
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