‘Nowhere near his best’ – Gary Neville says Liverpool player is now stuck in a ‘prolonged dip’
Gary Neville has said that one Liverpool player is experiencing a ‘prolonged dip’ and has been ‘nowhere near his best’ for some time.
Barring an extraordinary burst of form between now and May, Mo Salah will end the current campaign with by far his lowest goal tally in a single season for the Reds. Never before has he struck fewer than 23; his tally for 2025/26 thus far is a paltry six.
In fact, this campaign for the winger is set to be best remembered for his explosive interview after the 3-3 draw at Leeds in December, which came amid a succession of games where he didn’t start, although that storm has thankfully abated.
Neville ‘didn’t recognise’ Salah in Liverpool’s loss to Man City
The ex-Manchester United defender discussed the 33-year-old’s form on The Gary Neville Podcast after Liverpool’s defeat to Manchester City on Sunday, the attacker’s seventh successive Premier League match without a goal.
The Sky Sports pundit said: “Salah’s not showing his best, is he? He’s nowhere near his best. He’s been so consistent for so long and there was always going to be a prolonged dip. This is a prolonged dip.
“There were times out there you didn’t recognise him, but he did put in a beautiful ball for one of the chances.”
Salah’s numbers have slumped, but he hasn’t been completely ineffective
There’s no disputing that, even allowing for him missing a few games at the turn of the year due to the Africa Cup of Nations, this has been a thoroughly underwhelming season by the Egyptian’s extraordinary standards.
He’s scored just once in his last 11 Liverpool games and hasn’t netted in the Premier League since 1 November (Transfermarkt), which would’ve seemed unthinkable not so long ago for a forward who plundered 29 top-flight goals last term.
| Salah at Liverpool | Games | Goals | Goals per game |
| 2017/18 | 52 | 44 | 0.85 |
| 2018/19 | 52 | 27 | 0.52 |
| 2019/20 | 48 | 23 | 0.48 |
| 2020/21 | 51 | 31 | 0.61 |
| 2021/22 | 51 | 31 | 0.61 |
| 2022/23 | 51 | 30 | 0.59 |
| 2023/24 | 44 | 25 | 0.57 |
| 2024/25 | 52 | 34 | 0.65 |
| 2025/26 (so far) | 25 | 6 | 0.24 |
Sunday’s match was a frustrating one for Salah, who recorded five shots but had none on target and failed to pick out a teammate with any of his five crosses (Sofascore), and Liverpool Echo reporter Ian Doyle wrote that the ‘quality [was] not quite there’ for the most part from our number 11.
However, he really ought to have an assist against Man City for his beautiful pass into Hugo Ekitike, only for the Frenchman (who was straight in front of goal) to shockingly divert a free header wide, prompting the Egypt winger to collapse to the turf in disbelief.
Had the 23-year-old scored, it would’ve been the fourth Premier League match in a row in which Salah registered an assist, so it’s not as though he’s been completely ineffective in recent games despite his uncharacteristic slump in goalscoring form.
With Liverpool now facing an uphill battle to salvage Champions League qualification for next season, which is currently set to be the Egyptian’s last at Anfield, now would be the perfect time for our number 11 to rediscover the predatory instincts which have made him an all-time legend in L4.
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