Surprising!! Gary Neville highlights alarming decline in Mo Salah’s game

Mohamed Salah failed to make any impact on Sunday afternoon as Manchester United put in an impressive display to defeat Liverpool.

Despite tipped to influence the game, Salah looked a shadow of the player he was last year, when he posted the second most prolific campaign of his career. The Liverpool frontman fired another blank on Sunday and Gary Neville admits he is surprised that the Egyptian’s technical ability – not his physical qualities – appear to be leaving him as he ages.

He said on his podcast: “There are questions being asked about him, whether it’s his age, whether it’s one season too many. But the strange thing in watching Salah is usually a player getting towards the end of his career, what you notice is the physical decline.

Mohamed Salah misses a chance during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)

“I’m not seeing a physical decline – some of his sprints look quite sharp, he looks busy in the box. But crazy things like the ball comes to the back post… his technique on his kicking and his crossing, that’s the thing that looks well off.

“There were a couple of moments today at the back post where you’re thinking, ‘that’s not Mo Salah’. He had that moment where he dragged it really ugly towards the left of the post. That’s just his technique. Mo Salah could probably play until he’s 52 and have good technique, so that’s the bit that’s surprising me, the technical bit.”

Salah no longer retains the untouchable status he once did. On Sunday, a minute after United retook the lead, Arne Slot hauled off the forward and replaced him with Jeremie Frimpong despite Liverpool desperately needing a goal.

Jamie Carragher has suggested that Salah should be a regular starter for home games, when Liverpool are expected to dominate, but called on him to be taken out of the team for certain away trips.

The Ex-Liverpool player turned pundit claimed: “I don’t think Mo Salah’s in any position to complain if he was left out of one of the next two away games.”