To say Liverpool’s current fortunes are a slight contrast to those of twelve months ago would be a vast understatement.
Having survived a temporary wobble in late December 2021, which saw the Reds surrender significant ground to Manchester City in the title race and ultimately drop seven points in little under two weeks, Jurgen Klopp’s men would string together a run of 10 consecutive Premier League wins and consequently not sacrifice a single point until their highly anticipated visit to the Etihad in early April 2022.
At the core of such a momentous revival was Sadio Mane, who - after an extended amount of soul searching during the first half of the campaign - finally found his feet at Anfield once more as he was rejuvenated following a genius tactical tweak from the Liverpool manager.
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp already knows what Liverpool must do next but players must listen
READ MORE: Jamie Carragher names one exception to 'change everyone' message at Liverpool
Starring as Liverpool ended their 30-year wait for a league title in the summer of 2020, the Senegalese forward excelled over the course of a pulsating campaign as he fired the Reds to domestic kingship and established his own reputation as one of the continent’s most feared and talented wingers.
In fact, in the previous season, Mane had also played his part as Liverpool secured a sixth European Cup triumph. He also catapulted his name up the Premier League Golden Boot standings with a final day brace against Wolverhampton Wanderers in May 2019 and later shared the award with then-Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Anfield companion, Mohamed Salah.
It meant that last summer when Mane decided to call it a day after six trophy-laden years on Merseyside, with both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich aggressively sniffing around for any indication the forward would be open to seeking pastures new, there was a huge amount of sadness at both Anfield and the AXA Training Centre.
Truth be told, though, such sorrow was quickly dismissed when sporting director Julian Ward was able to make a significant breakthrough with agent Ramy Abbas over an extension of Salah’s time at Anfield. Just days later a select few club representatives would jet off to the Greek Island of Mykonos where the Egyptian was spending part of the off-season and swiftly sign, seal and deliver the biggest contract in the club’s 130-year history.
The three-year deal that was signed poolside of the Egyptian’s Greek hideaway would be a heavily-incentivised one and ultimately put Salah into the bracket of some of the Premier League’s top earners if he was able to reproduce the form that saw him tally 156 goals in 254 appearances during the previous five seasons.
However, nearly eight months after such a landmark moment in the history of the football club, Salah has failed to find his feet on a consistent basis this term. So far he has managed a measly return of seven Premier League goals in 20 outings and finds himself gazumped by the sensational exploits of Erling Haaland on the other side of the M62.
Of course, there are currently a series of faults within the once trophy-sweeping juggernaut Klopp spent the best part of six years meticulously designing alongside coaches Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz.
In defence, Liverpool illustrate a side that is powerless, unorganised and matchless to pretty much everything that has been thrown their way in the Premier League this season, with Saturday’s 3-0 humbling in the West Midlands a sign events can plummet to new lows, despite what Klopp thinks. In midfield, the unexplained nose-dive of certain individuals, particularly Fabinho - who only a few years ago was touted as the best that Europe had to offer, has meant that the Reds' selected trio in the centre of the park are bypassed with ease on almost a weekly basis.
A culmination of such issues means that Salah has found himself abnormally isolated on the right-hand side of attack this term and is having little to no influence on events. Alarmingly, of those to start Saturday’s defeat in the West Midlands for Liverpool, only Alisson Becker, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Naby Keita had fewer touches than the Egyptian’s 39.
In fact, during his six seasons since returning to the Premier League, Salah is currently averaging his fewest touches per 90 minutes (39.5) and in the opposition penalty area (7.51).
Clearly, it goes without saying, Salah isn’t the sole reason behind Liverpool’s struggle this campaign with issues in transition and an inability to win duels in midfield limiting the involvement of the 30-year-old. But that isn’t to say the forward’s issues are a fresh problem for Klopp either.
This week marks one year since the 30-year-old returned from the Africa Cup of Nations following his involvement with Egypt, where despite making it all the way to the final in Cameroon, the Pharaohs were unable to add a record eighth title to the record books as Mane coolly dispatched the winning penalty to secure a maiden triumph for Senegal.
Prior to departing Merseyside to join up with his international team-mates, the former Roma and Fiorentina attacker was without a doubt the most in-form player in European football. Sublime individual goals against Manchester City and Watford in successive Premier League fixtures in October 2021 underlined his ranking in the upper echelons of the world game and slowly but surely increased talk over a potential Ballon d'or glistening around Anfield later that year for the first time since 2001.
Since his return to action against Leicester City in a 2-0 victory on February 10 2022, Salah has managed just 14 Premier League goals in 35 games. At times during that run, mainly between February and May the Reds had the luxury of being saved by Mane, Jota and the instant arrival of January addition Luis Diaz while the Egyptian continued to find his feet amongst the exertions of Liverpool's historic quadruple hunt.
But after years of being heralded as Liverpool’s Egyptian King, Salah now ironically finds himself on the receiving end of service fit for a pauper as he fails to function with the same slickness and efficiency that saw him mop up every individual accolade these shores had to offer in previous seasons.
Similarly to Mane, Klopp has already shown that he is prepared to manoeuvre Salah more centrally this term in a bid to combat both his limited services but also the transition into his 30s. The truth, as difficult as it to digest, is that Salah is no longer the same explosive, slick forward that made a mockery of English football and all of its records between 2017 and 2021.
That is of course not to say his time at Anfield is done, in fact far from it. But if Liverpool and Klopp are to reap the rewards of their No.11 between now and 2025, a tweak more centrally must be administered and with Liverpool facing a desperate, last-gasp roll of the dice to save their season. Changes must be instant.
READ NEXT:
Julen Lopetegui offers surprising Liverpool 'truth' after Wolves defeat
- Liverpool player ratings as Joe Gomez terrible and six others awful in Wolves embarrassment
- Jurgen Klopp sends blunt warning to Liverpool players after 'horrible' Wolves moment
- Jamie Carragher gives damning one-word verdict on two Liverpool players after Wolves defeat
What Wolves fans sang to Jurgen Klopp offers final insult as Liverpool hit new low
