There’s a bit of talk doing the rounds that Arne Slot has somehow ruined Mohamed Salah’s confidence. Honestly, that argument doesn’t survive first contact with reality. Salah is many things, but a shrinking violet has never been one of them.

He’s built on self-belief. Even on nights when everything bounces off him, he still plays like he’s going to decide the game in the 89th minute. That mentality is a massive part of why he’s been elite for Liverpool for so long. It’s also, at times, why he can look a touch petulant when the team needs him to keep it simple or sacrifice a bit of the spotlight for the greater good.

Confidence isn’t the issue with Salah

When Salah misses a chance now, he doesn’t disappear. He keeps demanding the ball, keeps making the same run, keeps taking the same risk. That’s not a player whose head has gone because the manager said the wrong thing in training. That’s a player who backs himself, always.

And it’s worth saying: a dip in output doesn’t automatically mean the system has broken him. Great forwards go through spells where the touches are a fraction heavy, the finish is a fraction rushed, and the “usual” goal ends up in Row Z. It happens.

He’s still getting the ball where he likes it

The bigger point is tactical. There have been plenty of matches where Liverpool have tried to hit Salah early out wide, letting him isolate a full-back and go one-v-one, which is basically his comfort zone. The example that sticks out is Chelsea, where the plan was clearly to get him at Cucurella as quickly as possible.

But you can set him up perfectly and still need him to execute. If the dribble doesn’t come off, if the shot is dragged wide or skied, the manager doesn’t get to finish the chance for him. That’s not me saying “Mo is finished” either, because I don’t believe that for a second. He’s made a career out of proving people wrong.

Form can be complicated, but the blame game is lazy

I also don’t buy that he’s suddenly lost all his pace. In a straight sprint there still aren’t loads of full-backs in this league who fancy matching him stride for stride. The issue looks more like sharpness and end product than physical collapse.

By his standards, it’s been a poor season. That’s just the truth, even allowing for games where he’s looked close to himself without actually landing a goal or assist, and even allowing for cameos off the bench where he’s threatened. There could be any number of reasons behind it. But using Salah’s patchy run as another stick to beat Slot with feels more like frustration looking for a target than proper analysis.

Written by PatrikBurgher: 6 January 2026

Tags: efl tactics