Is Mo Salah’s Form Causing Problems for Liverpool — And How Arne Slot Plans to Fix It
Liverpool’s 2025 season under new manager Arne Slot has been a curious mix of promise and frustration. While the team has shown flashes of Slot’s trademark high-tempo, positional style, the Reds have struggled to find consistency — and nowhere is that more visible than in Mohamed Salah’s performances. Once the team’s talisman and unstoppable goal machine, Salah’s form has notably dipped, prompting questions about whether Liverpool’s attacking blueprint needs a rethink and how Slot plans to fix the balance.
A Star Out of Sync
For much of his Liverpool career, Mo Salah has been a symbol of reliability — a forward who not only scores goals but defines how the team attacks. Yet in recent months, the Egyptian king’s touch seems less certain. According to recent analysis, Salah has scored just five goals in his last twenty-one matches, a staggering drop by his standards.
Under Jurgen Klopp, Salah thrived as the right-sided spearhead in a system tailored around quick transitions and fluid front-three movements. His partnership with Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino made Liverpool’s attack unpredictable. But Arne Slot’s tactical approach — more structured, emphasizing possession and shape — has subtly changed Salah’s role.
He is now receiving fewer touches in dangerous zones, getting isolated on the flank, and often being double-marked. Defenses that once panicked when he cut inside now simply block the channels, forcing him wide and reducing his shot output. In short, Salah hasn’t lost his talent — but the context around him has shifted dramatically.
System Shock: When Change Meets Chemistry
Liverpool’s system under Slot still relies heavily on width and pressing, but the introduction of new signings like Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak has altered the team’s chemistry. Wirtz, who operates in central pockets, has become the creative hub — a role that previously saw Salah drift infield to combine and shoot. Now, Salah often finds himself pinned to the touchline to accommodate Wirtz’s positioning and Isak’s central runs.
The result? Less space, fewer direct goal opportunities, and growing frustration. Analysts from Squawka and FourFourTwo note that Wirtz’s integration, while promising for creativity, has inadvertently reduced Salah’s influence in front of goal.
Even so, Slot has insisted that the team is still “learning the patterns,” suggesting patience will be key. He’s argued that Salah’s form is part of a wider adaptation process rather than a personal decline — a fair assessment given that Liverpool’s defensive and midfield transitions have also looked uncertain this season.
Beyond Salah: A Team Finding Its Feet
It would be unfair to pin Liverpool’s inconsistency solely on one player. The team has struggled collectively in key areas — defensive concentration, midfield stability, and fluid link-up play in attack. The back line, despite experience, has been caught out by lapses in positioning, and the midfield’s rhythm remains a work in progress.
Slot’s system demands precision: players must rotate seamlessly, maintain pressing triggers, and move as a synchronized unit. That level of cohesion takes time. As such, Salah’s slump reflects not only his personal adjustment but also the growing pains of an evolving team identity.
Liverpool have had similar teething problems before — most notably when Klopp transitioned from his early “heavy-metal” pressing to a more controlled possession style. The difference now is that Salah, at 33, may not adapt as quickly to a system that demands new types of movements and combinations.
Slot’s Plan to Restore the Spark
The big question now is: how does Arne Slot fix this? How can Liverpool’s manager reignite Salah’s influence without derailing his tactical vision?
1. Recenter Salah’s Role
Slot could reposition Salah closer to the central channels, allowing him to operate where he’s most dangerous. Rather than hugging the right touchline, Salah could drift into the half-spaces, feeding off Isak and linking with Wirtz. This would mirror how he thrived alongside Firmino — exploiting pockets between defenders rather than being stuck wide.
2. Tactical Flexibility
Slot has been wedded to his system, but a short-term switch — perhaps to a 4-2-3-1 or a hybrid 3-4-2-1 — might give Salah greater license to roam. A tactical tweak could ease the creative burden on Wirtz while reviving the goal threat from the right.
3. Better Supply Lines
Much of Salah’s success depends on service from full-backs. When Trent Alexander-Arnold is in form, Liverpool’s right side becomes lethal. Encouraging overlapping runs and quicker switches of play could get Salah in behind defenses again, restoring his rhythm and confidence.
4. Rotation and Rest
While Salah has built his reputation on durability, he may benefit from selective rest. Slot could rotate him strategically to keep him sharp — especially as Liverpool navigate a dense fixture list across domestic and European competitions.
5. Time and Trust
Perhaps the most important ingredient is patience. Slot has publicly defended Salah, saying the dip began late last season and that the Egyptian remains central to Liverpool’s plans. “Form is temporary, but class is permanent,” Slot told reporters, urging fans not to panic.
A Transition Worth Enduring
Liverpool under Arne Slot is a team in evolution, not decline. The Dutchman’s philosophy aims for sustainability and tactical maturity — traits that could make the Reds more resilient in the long term. But transitions are never painless, especially for a team so defined by the rhythm and explosiveness of one man for nearly a decade.
For Mo Salah, this season is a test of reinvention. For Arne Slot, it’s a test of balance — between maintaining his principles and reigniting the fire of one of the Premier League’s greatest forwards.
If he succeeds, Liverpool may emerge not just fixed — but reborn.
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