Why Mo Salah isn’t having the bad season you might think he is

MO Salah seems to be having a slow start to the season, doesn’t he? Well, just like that footage of him looking angry after Roberto Firmino’s late winner against PSG, appearances can be deceptive.

Mohamed Salah is undoubtedly one of the Premier League’s top players.

MOHAMED SALAH seems to be having a slow start to the season, doesn’t he?

But just like that footage of Salah looking angry after Roberto Firmino’s late winner against PSG, appearances can be deceptive.

Because, according to Opta statistics at least, the Egyptian king is not as far off matching his regal form of last season as you may think.

Except, that is, in terms of goals.

Salah’s record-breaking 32 Premier League strikes last season came at the rate of 0.99 per 90 minutes — his two strikes in this campaign have arrived at 0.42 per 90 minutes.

It is worth noting, however, that Salah scored “only” three times in his first four Premier League appearances in 2017/18 and four times in his first eight.

RUMOUR MILL: STAR HEADHUNTED BY FORMER EMPLOYER, PL GIANTS TARGET WONDERKIDS

Mo Salah's Premier League stats.

PL LATE MAIL: SUSPENDED DUO LEAVES UNITED LIGHT; TOFFEES WELCOME BACK $73M STAR

And the stats for this season suggest he is getting into good positions nearly as often – his expected goals per 90 minutes so far is 0.71 compared to 0.75 across the whole of the last campaign.

So it just looks as though his finishing is a bit off at the moment – Opta say his expected goals for the first five games is 3.38.

If he’d put that simple chance against Leicester away, he would be on three.

Only Sergio Aguero, with 25, has had more shots than Salah’s 23, and only Fulham’s Alexander Mitrovic has more on target (10) than the Egyptian’s nine.

Salah played for the Reds in their thrilling win over Paris Saint-Germain.

ADAM PEACOCK: ‘GREATEST GOAL IN THE HISTORY OF TIME’: THE WORTHY PUSKAS WINNER

And Salah is not the only one in the Liverpool team guilty of missing chances.

Although his assists per 90 minutes figure is 0.21 so far, compared to 0.31 last season, he’s actually creating chances for his teammates more frequently – 3.36 per 90 minutes in 2018/19 compared to 1.91 in 2017/18.

Only City’s David Silva has provided as many opportunities (16); Salah’s teammates just need to do better with the service he is giving them.

Salah’s numbers for successful passes per 90 minutes overall, and successful passes in the final third, are both down, but his rate of intercepting the ball is up.

EXCLUSIVE: VICTORY POACH MATILDAS STAR FROM W-LEAGUE RIVAL

The Egyptian has to play his part in Liverpool’s high pressing game and against Leicester in particular, it felt like he wasn’t pulling his weight and should have been replaced by Xherdan Shaqiri sooner.

But again, overall, the statistics say he is not doing anything much different so far this season.

To the eyes of this reporter, Salah looks a bit less dynamic and a bit less confident - no longer the irresistible, instinctive force he was before Sergio Ramos brought him down to earth in the Champions League final.

His emotional reaction to Firmino’s goal probably included immediate joy, relief that his poor pass in the build-up to Kylian Mbappe’s equaliser had not cost Liverpool the win and, yes, maybe a bit of anger that his own performance had been below par.

But the heights he hit last season were very high, and the numbers suggest he is not as far off that form as it may seem.

This story originally appeared in The Sun.

READ MORE: MATILDAS SUPERSTAR HANDED INCREDIBLE FIFA 19 RATING

READ MORE: ‘OUR DISAPPOINTMENT’: SLOPPY TREND HOLDING BACK GUNNERS REVOLUTION

Salah won the golden boot during last year's Premier League campaign.

Originally published as Why Mo Salah isn’t having the bad season you might think he is