Liverpool are ‘seeing the end’ of Mohamed Salah but worst stats bettering Bukayo Saka show just how good he is

Mohamed Salah may be having the worst season of his Liverpool career, but he has still more goal involvements than Bukayo Saka.

And that’s something that proves just how good the Egyptian King is, according to the panel on talkSPORT’s Inside Liverpool.

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Salah has had a nightmare year in what could be his last term as a Reds player – clashing with Arne Slot at the end of 2025 off the pitch and then seemingly losing his spark on it.

However, on Wednesday night, the 33-year-old showed everyone that there may still be a little more fight left in him.

He curled in a trademark stunner for Liverpool to help them overturn a deficit and beat Galatasaray 4-0 in the Champions League.

It was a special moment for Salah and one that all fans loved at Anfield, but they will all have to try and enjoy what appears to be his final few months at the club before a potential summer exit.

Inside Liverpool host Sam Ellard said: “We’ve been critical of Salah this season, but just seeing him in front of the Kop, Champions League night, the celebration, it was special to see.”

Reds fan and former boxer Paul Smith then added: “Especially after the missed penalty, but after that the fans were singing his name, the whole ground was doing it.

“He’s obviously low on confidence, and when a player is low on confidence, there’s no point going in on them with negativity.

“Salah has always been one of those players; he might have a poor game, but he’ll score a screamer. He’s got that in his locker.”

Smith added: “I think in any sport, when you’re coming to an end, you can usually see the signs, and I think we have seen signs.

“I do think we’re seeing the end, but I think that’s normal with players his age and for players who have done what he’s done for so long and so consistently over the last six or seven years.

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“He’s been unbelievable, and if it’s coming to the end, then it’s one of those things, we have to enjoy what we have left of him.”

Salah’s stunner against Galatasaray was his 10th goal of the season for Liverpool in all competitions, taking his overall goal contributions to 19 when combined with his nine assists.

For a player who has averaged 44 involvements per term across his past eight years at the club, though, that’s an extremely low tally.

Salah ahead of Saka

But the Inside Liverpool panel pointed out that even when off his usual standards, Salah’s still better than other Premier League stars.

He has more contributions than Arsenal‘s Bukayo Saka, who has 14 so far this season, and Man City winger Jeremy Doku, who has 12.

And after being told that stat comparison, ex-Reds winger Jermaine Pennant said: “That’s a massive credit to himself.

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“This is his worst season in a Liverpool shirt, but his stats are better than other star players.

“That just goes to show how good he has been for Liverpool.

“If we go out and spend £80m on a wide player, you probably would be getting these numbers and saying: ‘That’s a good season’.”

Unlocked by a position change?

Salah appeared to be playing a more narrow role for Liverpool on Wednesday night, and he clearly benefited from that.

Manager Slot had been playing him extremely wide this season; however, the switch inside looked to work wonders.

And Pennant explained: “That’s how Salah likes to operate…he likes to be wide, but he wants to play off strikers, play those one-twos.

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“But for some reason, this season, we’ve seen him on the touchline, making it difficult as he’s not beating those players.

“So the more he plays inside and around the goal, we see what he can do, and that’s what we saw last season.

“Last season, he didn’t have the most amazing games, but at some point, he’d come up with a goal and assist when he did.”