After Liverpool’s 2-1 victory against Chelsea last weekend, Arne Slot jokingly told Trent Alexander-Arnold that he has some competition for the right-back position: Mohamed Salah. The Liverpool head coach had been as impressed with Salah’s defensive efforts as he was with his goal and assist.
The 32-year-old Egypt captain has been a central figure in Liverpool’s attack since he joined from Italy’s Roma in the summer of 2017. During his seven-plus years at the club, their approach has swayed between heavily transitional (2017-18 and 2023-24) and more controlled (2018-23 and 2024-present), yet Salah’s adaptability has enabled him to maintain his outstanding output throughout.
So it’s no surprise that Salah has continued to be highly involved under new coach Slot too. The right-winger’s seven goals and seven assists in all competitions this season show how important he still is to Liverpool’s attack. And rather than just being in the right place at the right time to score or play the final ball, he has been central to their entire attacking phases.
In terms of open-play shot-ending sequences in the 2024-25 Premier League, Salah has the most shots (2.8) and chances created (1.9) per 90 among the Liverpool players with at least 500 minutes of game time. He is also participating in the build-up of those attacks, as illustrated in this graphic:
The most striking part of Salah’s recent development is his evolution as a creator. In only eight Premier League matches this season, he has five assists. His highest number of assists for a single Premier League season up to now is 13, in 2021-22.
The raw numbers are supported by the underlying metrics. Salah’s expected assists (xA) rate of 0.37 per 90 is the second-highest of his Premier League career after last season’s 0.42, and is the third-highest rate among all players to have appeared in the division for at least 500 minutes this season.
The chances Salah creates come in different shapes and forms, but his crosses towards the back post have stood out under Slot, being the Egyptian’s third-most common pass when clustering his open-play passes in the 2024-25 Premier League.
That type of pass led to what proved the winner on Sunday, when he found Curtis Jones’ late run into the penalty area, before the midfielder controlled the ball and scored past Robert Sanchez.
Earlier this month, Salah played an identical assist to Alexis Mac Allister in a 2-0 Champions League victory against Bologna.
He spots Mac Allister’s movement inside the penalty area, and places the ball towards the far post for the Argentina midfielder to apply a simple tap-in.
Whether it’s by finding runners towards the back post or playing through balls into the penalty area, Salah is Liverpool’s most important tool when trying to break down a defensive block.
In addition to that, he is still able to carry the ball into the opponent’s box himself and threaten in one-versus-one situations despite losing some of his explosiveness that we were accustomed to in his earlier days.
Last season, then Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told broadcaster beIN Sports that what he loved the most about Salah was that he wanted to improve all the time. “Every year, something new in his toolbox,” Klopp said.
In the first three months of this season, he has been an outlet for Slot’s team when they have been pressed up the pitch. Throughout the years, Salah’s core strength has been improved, which now gives him an advantage in one-versus-one situations when he is receiving long passes with his back to goal. On top of that, he has learnt how to use his body to keep the defender he is up against away from the ball.
It’s why Salah has been the main target in Liverpool’s up-back-through pinball move that starts with Alisson, fellow goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher or defender Ibrahima Konate hitting a direct ball into him, before he plays a pass backwards while a team-mate attacks the space in between, with the final aim of finding the third-man run.
Diagonals from centre-back Virgil van Dijk out to Salah have been a staple of Liverpool’s game in the past couple of seasons, but under Slot the latter is an aerial outlet for all types of long passes.
Looking at the rate of long balls received per game — defined as passes received that are at least 32m in length — Salah has been getting more of them this season (7.1) than in his previous six years in the Premier League.
This isn’t because Liverpool are being more direct, but because Salah is being utilised as an outlet due to his ability to receive and control the ball in isolated situations.
Between 2018-19 and 2023-24, he received 14 per cent of Liverpool’s Premier League long balls, with his highest single-season share being 17 per cent in 2022-23. That figure jumps to 30 per cent so far in the 2024-25 Premier League — more than double his average for the past six seasons.
The change showcases Salah’s ability to adapt and take on additional tasks in Liverpool’s attack, which has been a trend throughout his time at Anfield.
Salah has been instrumental to their successes in the past seven years, and this season he is proving to be the fulcrum of the team’s attack under Slot.
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