Mohamed Salah can hardly argue with Wayne Rooney's latest criticism, but he is still wrong - opinion
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Wayne Rooney has been quick to point the finger at Mohamed Salah after another lacklustre performance.The Reds were shown by Man City on Sunday how they are still quite a way off from being the best, with Pep Guardiola’s side running out comfortable 3-0 winners.The overall performance was poor but there have been a few Liverpool players who have been singled out, one of these being Salah.Join our newsletter for news & smart analysis. Rooney, fresh off the back of some heat from Virgil van Dijk for previous comments, pointed out Salah in particular, with the Egyptian struggling yet again.However, although what Rooney has said is partly true, it is not Salah’s fault really at all.Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty ImagesWayne Rooney criticises Mohamed Salah’s defensive workOne of the main reasons Liverpool lost this game was because of just how good Jeremy Doku was, with the winger causing Conor Bradley real problems.Bradley deserves some credit, though, and he stuck at his task well, with his job made even harder by the fact Salah did not help out defensively at all.This is what Rooney was quick to point out, with the former Man United man believing that it was the Egyptian’s fault that Doku ran riot.“Salah is in the team to score goals and create goals.
He’s been one of the best players in the Premier League over the last six or seven years,” he said on Match of the Day.“But in big games, you have to double up. You have to get back and help your teammate.
READ MORE: Three things we learnt from Liverpool vs Man City as Reds’ abysmal away form continues“Conor Bradley was having a really tough game today, to be left on his own.“Ryan Gravenberch was trying his best to help him and get over there, but then that leaves spaces in other positions. I think Salah has to come back and help his teammate.” Mohamed Salah is not the issueOf course, it is a team game and everyone needs to help out, but Salah is quite simply told not to defend and stay high.This is what Arne Slot has instructed him to do ever since he arrived, with this being the same last season when they romped to the league title.So, with that not changing, the issue clearly lies elsewhere, with most of the problems stemming from midfield.In the past, the midfielders would cover the full-backs when they go forward or help them out if an attacker is causing them some issues, but this did not happen against Man City.Gravenberch tried where he could, but this left gaps elsewhere, suggesting someone else was not doing their job.This is the area Slot needs to sort out and ensure there is cover all over the park, with the obvious solution being to go back to what they did so well last season.