Gary Neville, a former Manchester United defender, has expressed concerns about Mo Salah’s recent form, comparing it to the decline experienced by Heung-Min Son 18 months ago.
According to Neville, Salah’s performance in the Merseyside derby against Everton was particularly underwhelming, highlighting his lack of involvement and touches on the ball. Neville believes that Salah, who has been a consistent performer for several years, may have hit a brick wall due to the physical and mental demands of the game.
“Mo Salah’s just hit a brick wall. You’ve got be careful, there was a player out here [in the north London derby] called Son that I think hit a brick wall probably about 18 months ago, where he looked like he was gone and he was struggling,” Neville said on Sky Sports.
“These players play so much football they play so consistently and Salah has been almost ever present for like six or seven years. There just comes a point whereby you need a break.”
Neville also drew parallels with his own experiences at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, where the announcement of the manager’s departure led to uncertainty and a decline in team performance.
“I had that at Manchester United a few times. There’s only one winner, but the problem is that the manager is leaving which helps Mo Salah a little bit,” Neville said.
“I think there might be a bit of a problem if it were to carry on for the rest of the season. Two massive personalities and characters.”
Neville believes that Salah’s decline is not related to the announcement of Jurgen Klopp’s departure from Liverpool at the end of the season, but rather a natural consequence of the demanding nature of the game.
“I don’t think what’s happened with Liverpool in the last few weeks is because Jurgen Klopp was announced earlier in the season. I don’t think that at all,” Neville said.
“I think always think you should judge a team based on what you thought at the start of the season and if you had said to me ‘Liverpool will win a trophy in the finished third’. I’d have said that was a bloody good season without a midfield at the start of the year and thinking that they were going to transition from this great team into this new team.”
Neville believes that Liverpool’s recent struggles are not due to a lack of mentality, but rather the physical and mental exhaustion caused by the relentless demands of the season.
“Overall on Liverpool, I’m not sat here thinking that they’ve bottled it. I’m sat here thinking they were running a hundred miles an hour,” Neville said.
“You watch them all every week and Arsenal were at a really high level and City were getting to a really high level. Liverpool were just hanging on in there. I feel like it’s just gone over the edge. It’s just been too much for them.”
