It was an open-and-shut case for many, including his manager. ()
Mohamed Salah was, it was declared on an almost weekly basis, the best soccer player in the world for the first half of this season, demonstrating the kind of elite-level scoring form only Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and more recently Robert Lewandowski have been able to produce this century.
It wasn바카라t just the volume of goals 바카라 22 in his first 23 matches 바카라 that he was putting away for Liverpool. It was the sheer quality of them that took one바카라s breath away.
None more so than the weaving solo effort he conjured up against Manchester City at Anfield in October, midway through a run of 10 straight games when he scored, that surely will go down as the Premier League바카라s goal of the season.
바카라Come on,바카라 Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp asked out loud, 바카라who is better than him?바카라
Fast forward six months and Salah is, in relative terms, in a rut. Indeed, heading into a seismic return match against City on Sunday that could yet determine the destination of the title, there바카라s an argument to say he might not even be Klopp바카라s go-to striker.
There are potentially a whole host of reasons why Salah is going through his worst scoring run this season, with no goals in five games in all competitions and no open-play goals in six weeks.
Is he tired? He바카라s already played 47 games this season, after all.
Are painful losses for Egypt lingering? First there was the penalty-shootout loss to Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane바카라s Senegal in the African Cup of Nations final in February, then a loss 바카라 also via a shootout 바카라 to the same opponent in a World Cup playoff last month.
Does it have anything to do with his current contract standoff with Liverpool? That would be unlikely.
Maybe it바카라s simply the vagaries of form and happenstance. Because he바카라s still piling up the chances, just not converting them.
Whatever it is, this is not the Salah of six months ago. He was substituted midway through the second half in each of Liverpool바카라s last two games after, by his high standards, fairly underwhelming performances.
바카라Sometimes he could decide in a better way, no doubt about that, pass the ball quicker and all these things,바카라 Klopp said this week. 바카라But it바카라s a tough period for Sadio (Mane) and Mo, with the Africa Cup and coming back being immediately available for us again with all the games.
바카라It바카라s completely normal in a season that you have these little (ups and downs).바카라
Will Klopp drop Salah against City on Sunday? He바카라d be a brave man to do that to the Premier League바카라s top scorer. But it바카라s not that he doesn바카라t have options.
And in Diogo Jota, Klopp has a forward who has helped to take on Liverpool바카라s scoring burden firstly while Salah was away at the African Cup and then amid the Egyptian바카라s recent struggles.
Jota appears to be Liverpool바카라s first-choice center forward now, displacing Roberto Firmino by doing all the dirty work like the Brazilian 바카라 the tracking back, the pressing, the harrying of defenders 바카라 but scoring a lot more goals at the same time.
Jota has scored four goals in his last six games, including the winner against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup quarterfinals and crucial openers against Arsenal and Watford in the league. He is tied for second in the league바카라s scoring chart with 14 goals.
Rested against Benfica in the Champions League in midweek, Jota is highly likely to start against City. It바카라s which two players are alongside him in the three-pronged forward line that바카라s the big question.
And this is where Liverpool holds the edge over City, which will start the game at Etihad Stadium one point clear of Klopp바카라s team with eight games left. Liverpool바카라s firepower simply is greater, with Klopp able to call upon Salah, Jota, Firmino, Mane and January signing Luis Diaz, who has settled in seamlessly since joining from Porto.
City has a slew of classy attacking midfielders and forwards but none have the cutting edge of the likes of Salah 바카라 when he바카라s in form 바카라 or Jota.
City manager Pep Guardiola knows a draw is enough to leave the destiny of the title solely in his team바카라s hands. If that happens, City will win the league by winning its next seven games.
The onus is on Liverpool to go on the attack, which makes the game all the more enticing for fans.
And Klopp, who boldly played a front four of Mane, Salah, Jota and Firmino at the Etihad two seasons ago, knows he has the offensive players to overwhelm City.
Whether Salah is playing or not.
