Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), unhappy with his recent exclusion from the starting lineup, saw his performance drop significantly from the first half of the season.
The Reds drew 2-2 away to West Ham United in the 35th round of the 2023-2024 English Premier League season on Sunday (Sept. 27) at the London Stadium in London, England.
Liverpool conceded an early goal through Jared Bowen in the 43rd minute, but left-back Andy Robertson equalized five minutes later. After going into halftime at 1-1, the Reds took the lead through an own goal from goalkeeper Alphonse Areola in the 20th minute of the second half, only to concede again through Michail Antonio in the 32nd minute.
The draw left Liverpool with just one point on the day, leaving them in third place (22 points, 9 draws, 4 losses – 75 points) and unable to overtake second-place Manchester City (76 points), who have played two games less. The gap between them and leaders Arsenal (80 points) has widened to five points, making it considerably more difficult for the Reds to overturn the deficit.
After Liverpool failed to take all three points against West Ham, leaving their Premier League title chances in serious jeopardy, Salah was caught on camera arguing with Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.
After conceding a late goal to West Ham to make the score 2-2, Klopp used three substitutions in the 34th minute to try to win the game. He brought on Mohamed Salah, Darwin Núñez, and Joe Gomes from the bench to increase his attacking numbers.
In the process, Salah, who was waiting near the touchline ahead of his substitution, became involved in an argument with Klopp. After exchanging a few words with Klopp, Salah continued to express his frustration by angrily shouting at him and only stopped when Núñez approached and stopped him.
Speaking to British broadcaster TNT Sport after the game, Klopp dismissed the controversy, saying he “can’t speak” about the altercation with Salah, adding, “We already spoke about it again in the dressing room, it’s over.”
But Salah reignited the controversy. “If I talk now, it will reignite (the controversy),” said Salah, who declined to be interviewed as he walked through the mixed zone on his way home from work.
The media gave a behind-the-scenes account of the situation. “Klopp expected to shake hands with Salah before the substitution. But he went in without shaking hands.”
“This has often happened between Klopp and other players. He values interaction with his players before they come on. But not for the first time with Salah. Salah was angry that he was left out of the starting lineup and was in a bad mood, and Klopp was unhappy with his behavior.”
The Reds needed a win against West Ham to stay in contention for the title, and Salah’s decision to start from the bench rather than the starting lineup suggests he was unhappy with Klopp. However, Salah’s stats 스포츠토토 in the second half of the season dipped compared to the first half, supporting Klopp’s decision to bench him.
British outlet Sky Sports broke down Salah’s stats per 90 minutes in the Premier League in the 2023-24 season, before and after January 1, 2024.
In the first half of the season, Salah’s stats were excellent. With a goal involvement per 90 minutes (1.14) above 1, Salah averaged more than one offensive point per game in the first half.
In the first half of the season, Salah scored 12 goals and provided seven assists in the league, leading the Premier League in both goals and assists. His form also helped Liverpool to a 12-6-1 record in their 19 league games in the first half of the season.
But in the second half, Salah became a completely different player. After starting the new year on a high note with two goals and an assist in a 4-2 home win over Newcastle United in the 20th round on January 2, Salah was called up to the Egyptian national team for the 2023 African Football Confederation (AFCON) Africa Cup of Nations.
Salah’s return was delayed by a hamstring injury suffered earlier in the tournament when Egypt were knocked out in the round of 16. After recovering from the injury, he made a spectacular comeback in February, scoring a goal and providing an assist in a 4-1 win over Brentford in round 25.
However, Salah returned to the injury list after playing with a hamstring injury that hadn’t fully healed. He made his return to action in the UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg against Sparta Prague in early March, but hasn’t been able to match the form he showed in the first half of the season.
Salah has scored just two goals in his last eight league games, one of which came from the penalty spot. This shows that Salah, who was leading the league in goals and assists in the first half of the season, is struggling to put points on the board in the second half.
Sky Sports also took note of Salah’s second-half stats. His goal involvement has dropped from 1.14 to 0.71, and while his shots per 90 minutes (2.47) and expected goals (0.82) are up from the first half, his goals per 90 minutes (0.53) are down. This means they’re taking a lot of shots, but they’re not scoring goals because they’re not being decisive.
As a result, Salah, who scored 12 goals and provided seven assists in the league in the first half of the year, has been a source of concern for Klopp since the start of 2024, with just five goals and two assists.
Klopp boldly benched Salah against West Ham as his form slumped, but Salah didn’t understand the decision and raised eyebrows with the fans by arguing with the manager in front of all the fans.