Slot should drop Salah by unleashing Liverpool ace for the very first time

Maybe we all got a little carried away. After all, it was only Old Trafford. Liverpool faced a sterner test in the form of Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest, and they did not pass.

Nine points from 12 is hardly a poor return for Arne Slot’s opening phase as Liverpool boss, but the Dutchman must ensure that a blip does not devolve into a blue streak to cast the honeymoon period into long faded memory.

The games are going to come thick and fast, with the new and larger Champions League mixing with the Carabao Cup to perch atop the unceasing top-flight action.

Liverpool were throttled by their own lacklustre performance, dredging nightmarish memories of the backend of last season. Still, credit must be handed to Forest, who were coherent and tenacious and took their chance when it mattered. Their unbeaten start, at the expense of Slot’s, extends.

And so we now turn away from the Premier League for the first time under Slot’s wing. The Champions League returns, with AC Milan awaiting Liverpool at the San Siro, and the Reds might want to consider the somewhat dramatic move to drop Mohamed Salah on Tuesday.

Why Slot should drop Mohamed Salah

It hardly requires microscopic analysis to determine that Liverpool were far below par on Saturday, but microscopic analysis has been rife since, spreading like damp on an old wall.

Perhaps, Liverpool had an off day. Perhaps, this is a new system with a new boss, and hiccups are to be expected, especially early on.

But such setbacks can’t continue, must not continue. Liverpool were a day late and a dollar short, and the scarcely altered starting lineup across this first month of the era has to now change, or Slot will face the same issues as his predecessor and see his first-team reduced by the snapping jas of injury setbacks.

Salah was not the only home player to toil on Saturday, but he did put in a pretty dire performance. The Merseysiders were possibly lulled into a false sense of infallibility after an emphatic start to the campaign, but as skipper Virgil van Dijk said, the recent loss was “unacceptable” and a “reality check”.

The Egyptian has scored three goals and supplied three assists so far for Liverpool this season but after starting both of his nation’s international fixtures over the past couple of weeks, it’s important that he is rotated to preserve fitness and juggle the workload.

Though he’s a world-class athlete, Salah is 32 years old. He made 3.8 ball recoveries per 90 during the 2017/18 Premier League season, his first at Liverpool, but so far this year just 2.31, as per FBref. This is only natural; Salah has tweaked his game accordingly as he is still one of the best in the business.

But AC Milan put Venezia to the sword last weekend, ploughing into a four-goal lead after half an hour, and any languidness will be found out.

That’s why it might be high time to make a change or two. Diogo Jota has struggled to influence across his past few outings – failing to find the net – and Luis Diaz had an off day after the Tricky Trees, so with Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez waiting in the wings, it would seem apt timing for Slot to make a change.

But Salah, ahh, Salah’s a different story, right? Wrong. He could do with a rest and can always be introduced after the break against Tuesday’s Italian opponents, should he be required. Harvey Elliott’s out injured after fracturing his foot, but maybe it’s time to unleash Federico Chiesa for the first time.

The man to replace Mo Salah

It was a frustrating summer, with a bid to sign Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi foiled by the midfielder’s desire to remain in Basque Country. No alternatives were landed and Liverpool also neglected to improve their backline.

But Chiesa arrived from Juventus for a cut-price £12.5m fee. The versatile forward had been expected to leave Turin all summer with one year remaining on his deal, and Liverpool acted to bypass competition from the likes of Barcelona and complete their frontline.

He’s yet to make his debut but will hope to be in line now, having used the recent international break to build on his fitness and attune to Slot’s system.

Chiesa could also be the perfect weapon against Milan, especially considering that either Gakpo or Nunez are expected to get the nod in midweek. Salah, while an elite-class playmaker, does not have the wheels that he once did and will struggle to stretch the flanks and overload with the same kind of success that Chiesa could have.

The Italy international, indeed, ranks among the top 1% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for shot-creating actions and the top 3% for progressive carries per 90.

Salah, conversely, ranks among the top 19% for shot-creating actions but only the top 44% for progressive carries per 90.

This could see the 26-year-old work in a kind of dynamic tandem with, say, Gakpo, whose finishing and multi-functionality as a focal striker could prove key in unlocking the hosts’ backline tomorrow.

Liverpool’s new recruit, moreover, scored ten goals across 29 starting appearances in all competitions for Juventus last year, putting the misery of the past injury-riddled years behind him.

He knows Milan well and will feel that he has the tools to unlock the defence. Liverpool will always be at their most threatening when Salah is in the starting line-up but he played 75 minutes in Botswana last week and 90 minutes for Egypt just over one week ago. He needs to be rested ahead of the gruelling fixture list up ahead.

It might just bear dividends in the long run.