Mohamed Salah was powerless to stop Liverpool slipping to dismal defeat against Atalanta last night.
Although initially rested, Salah was introduced into the action as a half-time substitute. With the Reds already 1-0 down and going on to ship a further two, Mo couldn’t turn things around.
The Egyptian did have the ball in the net, mind you. Salah rifled home a lovely Andy Robertson cross and thought he’d made it 2-1. However, replays showed he’d just strayed marginally offside.
Salah did have other chances, but the illegal goal was the only one he could stick beyond Juan Musso. It was the latest in a string of slightly disappointing displays in the final third from the 31-year-old, who hasn’t been efficient recently.
Paul Merson’s weekend Premier League predictions were written before Liverpool’s loss last night. However, the pundit told Sportskeeda that the Reds do actually boast a more lethal finisher than Salah.
Paul Merson makes Diogo Jota admission
Something clearly isn’t quite clicking with Salah at the moment. In all likelihood, he’s still trying to shake of the last effects of his recent injury.
Not a player who’s used to spending time on the side-lines, Mo is perhaps still feeling his way back into a rhythm.
Another Liverpool player who will have to do that in the final weeks of the season is Diogo Jota. Having been out for the last eight weeks or so, Jota is now back.
He had a relatively bright cameo against Atalanta last night although should perhaps have done better with a couple of sights of goal.
Merson thinks the 27-year-old’s return could be huge for the Reds though and has labelled Jota as being more clinical than Salah.
“One player whose return will be invaluable to the German manager is Diogo Jota,” says the pundit. “I think he’s Liverpool best finisher ahead of Mohamed Salah and if he had played, Klopp and Co would have emerged victorious against Manchester United.”
Who is more clinical – Mo Salah or Diogo Jota
Liverpool legend Steve Nicol recently claimed that Salah ‘drives him insane’ with the amount of chances he misses. Jota, by contrast, is often seen as a much cooler, lethal finisher.
And as per football statistics site fbref.com, the numbers back this up. Salah has a ratio of 0.14 shots per goal. That means the No.11 is likely to score with every seven or so shots that he takes. In terms of shots on target, Mo apparently scores with every 0.33 efforts.
As for Jota, he unsurprisingly tops the Liverpool squad in both of these metrics. The Portuguese scores with every 0.25 shots he takes, well clear of Salah and Robertson in joint-second. Jota finds the net with 0.53 of his strikes on target, ahead of four other players on 0.50.
So, Merson is absolutely right on this. And it could make all the difference having Diogo back for the run-in.