Salah - the "Little Pharaoh" - is in a vertical fall!

At the end of last season, Salah was ranked by fans alongside superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Entering this season, Liverpool fans hoped that with his class, Salah would score 40-50 goals per season like CR7 and M10. But things are working against the Egyptian star.

The top scorer is sleeping on his laurels.

It's true that in English football, very few players maintain consistent form for an extended period. Coaches simply study their playing style and quickly devise countermeasures, but a dramatic decline like Salah's – the top scorer with 32 goals last season – is extremely rare.

Top scorer Salah remains goalless. Photo: Internet

Last season, Salah averaged just 93.6 minutes per goal for Liverpool across all competitions. However, after 853 minutes of play this season, Salah has only scored 3 goals, meaning he averages 284 minutes per goal. That's a terrible rate for a striker, regardless of the club he plays for.

Salah has missed eight out of nine clear-cut chances in the Premier League. In contrast, last year he converted 32 goals from 59 chances created by his Liverpool teammates, averaging one goal for every 1.8 chances.

Last year, Salah's dribbling success rate was as high as 49%, but this season it has dropped to 18%. Salah's left-footed passes are easily neutralized by opponents. Regarding his playmaking role, last season Salah averaged 2 key passes per game, but in recent matches he hasn't managed a single key pass.

The pressure to succeed has made the Egyptian star's footwork clumsy against the English defenses. Up to this point, Salah's left-footed shots, which twist past opponents, have often been easily neutralized. Before matches, coaches usually only show defenders how Salah dribbles, and this star hasn't yet reached the genius level of Messi to have many ways to counter him.

With his form declining, Salah doesn't receive as much support from his Liverpool teammates as he did last season. The ball starts to be shared more with Sadio Mane, who is widely expected to take on the goalscoring responsibilities for the Merseyside club this season.

Of course, opportunities like this don't always come around, and Mane is trying to compete for Salah's space, who has already scored 4 goals. Without the same level of support as last season, Salah becomes isolated and easily surrounded by opponents, which is understandable.

Liverpool's worries

Hosting "The Citizens" at home, Salah continued to be trusted by manager Klopp to play as a right winger in Liverpool's familiar 4-3-3 formation. This was an opportunity for the Merseyside team to widen the gap with Man City, a match between the "six big" teams, but once again Salah disappointed despite playing the full 90 minutes.

Liverpool have dropped to third place in the Premier League. Photo: Internet

With left-back Mendy and center-back Laporte closely marking him, the "Egyptian King" was ineffective with every touch of the ball. Salah had no successful dribbles or chances created for his teammates. He took three shots, one of which was on target, but the trajectory of the ball was not enough to beat goalkeeper Ederson. He was only given a rating of 6.1, placing him among the top three worst players of the match.

Liverpool were fortunate not to leave empty-handed at home, as midfielder Riyad Mahrez caused "The Citizens" to drop points with a penalty that went over the bar, but after the 0-0 draw they dropped to third place behind Chelsea and Manchester City.

Chelsea, under manager Sarri, continued their unbeaten run in the Premier League this season with a 3-0 victory over Southampton, with Eden Hazard once again shining with his seventh goal, and Morata also scoring from the bench. Arsenal are now just one point behind Liverpool. A real challenge awaits manager Klopp, top scorer Salah, and the Liverpool players.