Wayne Rooney believes Mohamed Salah is letting Liverpool down with his low defensive work ethic but a conversation with Arne Slot in 2024 provides the real truth of the matter.
After three consecutive defeats in all competitions, Liverpool are receiving a lot of criticism. Yet, the Reds are second in the Premier League table and just a point behind Arsenal.
It hasn’t been a glittering start to the season by any measure, but it’s certainly not as worrying as many make it out to be.
Liverpool are coming off a summer transfer window where they tragically lost one of their most important squad members and spent a record-breaking £466m to sign several new players.
Between the ongoing grief and all the changes, it should come as no surprise that Liverpool are struggling.
Blaming Salah, the best player at the club for the way things are going, however, is not reflective of the truth whatsoever.
Wayne Rooney calls out Mohamed Salah for poor “work ethic”
Speaking about the frustrations at Anfield, Wayne Rooney has suggested that Salah needs to support his fullback more.
Rooney said: “With the players coming in, Isak, [Hugo] Ekitike, and Wirtz, the money they have spent on them, what does Salah think now?
“Top players have an ego, and Mo Salah has been one of the best players in the league for a long time. I think the last week has shown that when it’s gone well, you’re scoring goals and you’re winning games, it’s great and the team will put up with that, but over the last week, I’d question his work ethic.
“I know he doesn’t always get back and defend as much, but in the Chelsea game, his full-back is getting torn apart, and he is watching.
“Players like Van Dijk and Alisson, who I know wasn’t playing, but the leaders in the dressing room should be telling him you need to help him.
“For me, that was a worry. He has looked a little bit lost the past week, in my opinion.”
Old Mo Salah quotes answer Rooney’s questions
Last season, Salah scored 29 goals and assisted 18. It was the greatest individual Premier League season on record, totalling 47 goal contributions on the way to Liverpool’s 20th league title.
A noticeable change from Salah’s positioning in Jurgen Klopp’s final season to Arne Slot’s first was that Salah rarely retreated in defence.
This was no accident, and he actually revealed it was the result of a personal conversation he had with the Dutch manager in a concerted effort to get the best out of him.
“I told Slot: ‘As long as you rest me defensively, I will provide offensively’,” Salah revealed in 2024.
“Try to rest me as much as I can, then I will show you the numbers. So I’m glad that I did.”
Things have changed this season with Salah now surrounded by greater attacking talents than last season but it’s yet to click.
It is, however, a scary prospect for the rest of the league to see the current Premier League champions one point behind league leaders Arsenal without showing any real evidence of good form.
When Liverpool finally find a way to combine the new signings with the likes of Salah, it’s going to be thrilling to watch.
