Mohamed Salah has undoubtedly been Liverpool’s most important player this season, but Harvey Elliott believes it is time to make one change.
A certain type of strike would undoubtedly come to mind if asked to define a typical Mohamed Salah goal for Liverpool. He’d come in from the right, possibly using a defender as a screen, and curl the ball into the top-left corner.
There’s little doubt that Salah is still replaying that video in his head. In a large proportion of his games, he will try a variation on that theme.
Even though the Liverpool talisman is currently second in the Premier League goal charts, none of his strikes have fit that description. In fact, one could argue that the trademark finish has essentially vanished.
Funnily enough, his last goal from outside the area for Liverpool only came last weekend. But the strike against Nottingham Forest was far from his classic curling effort; the goal was at his mercy after Matt Turner came charging out, only to be beaten by the flight of the ball.
The most recent outside-the-box goal requires going back over a year, to October 2022. Again, this was an outlier — Alisson put Salah away against Manchester City, and while he hit it from just outside the area, it was essentially a one-versus-one situation.
Some might argue that Salah’s ‘trademark’ goal isn’t necessarily out of the box. It could be coming from just inside the area, albeit a little to the right. However, nothing has properly ticked this box in the last couple of seasons.
In fact, the most recent goal that perfectly fits the criteria is probably the final strike in Liverpool’s 7-0 rout of Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park (see Understat’s shot map for yourself). It’s been three years since then.
At the moment, Salah isn’t doing much wrong for Liverpool. But this is one area where he may need to temper his instincts, and Harvey Elliott appears to agree.
Elliott was wide to the right of Salah at one point against Bournemouth. On the overlap, he wanted to be noticed. Instead, the Egyptian took a step inside and looked for that top corner, only to find the goalkeeper’s grateful arms.
Elliott’s annoyance was visible for a brief moment. He threw his arms up in frustration at Salah, the player who has served as his Liverpool mentor in recent years.
Elliott has a valid point, it must be said. Certain players can defy statistical models that appear to force teams to avoid long shots, but Salah is no longer one of them.
This isn’t to say he’s gotten worse technically. However, after his explosive debut season, in which he truly established himself, defenses began to take notice. On the rare occasions when Salah is able to create enough space to even attempt a shot, it must be a snapshot, with opposition attention never far away.
With that in mind, perhaps it’s time for Salah to hand over the baton. His signature is ingrained in the minds of opponents, so he will continue to occupy extra defenders — making room for other teammates, some of whom appear eager to take up the long-shots mantle.
Nobody has yet surpassed Philippe Coutinho’s xG defiance. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai, on the other hand, clearly have the technical expertise to pose a long-range threat. For what it’s worth, they shouldn’t be taking five pot shots per game either, but they are in a better position than Salah to step up as the primary weapons from distance.
Szoboszlai has already scored spectacularly from outside the box this season, with his volley against Aston Villa coming from right on the edge of the area. Perhaps he is developing his own trademark. But it may be time for Salah to retire the old party trick.
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