Liverpool's Golden Handcuffs: Salah and Van Dijk's Decline

Strategic Insights -

Liverpool's struggles this season have exposed the vulnerabilities of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, two players who were granted lucrative contract extensions despite their advancing ages. The Egyptian winger and the Dutch captain have been glinting examples of players who, once buttressed by lavish contract renewals, have checked out mentally and physically. Their recent performances have raised questions about whether they are still worthy of their first names on the team sheet.

Key Takeaways:

  • Mohamed Salah has gone longer than ever without a non-penalty goal, scoring as many at Anfield this season as Harry Maguire.
  • Virgil van Dijk loses his man more frequently than he ever did, with his technique at times verging on nonchalance.
  • Liverpool have been marginally worse in every crucial statistic this season compared to their 2024-25 triumph.
  • The team has scored 1.8 goals per game this season, compared to 2.3 last season.
  • Liverpool has conceded 1.4 expected goals per game this season, compared to 1 expected goal per game last season.
  • Salah's decline, which could be temporary, is such that you wonder if manager Arne Slot will even start him in every game.
  • Van Dijk's struggles have led to questions about whether he is still helping the team, with former Liverpool defender and Telegraph Sport columnist Jamie Carragher suggesting that Salah and Van Dijk are no longer guaranteed starters.
  • Liverpool's twin totems have been far from the stage where their investment in the cause can be doubted, but their struggles are of a magnitude where we can reasonably ask why the club placed them in golden handcuffs at such a late phase of their careers.
  • No player in his mid-thirties, besides Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, has ever produced a standard to justify the money that Liverpool's twin totems now command.

Statistics:

  • Salah has not scored a non-penalty goal in 10 games.
  • Van Dijk has lost his man more frequently than he ever did, averaging 1.2 mistakes per game this season, compared to 0.8 mistakes per game last season.
  • Liverpool has scored 17.1 total shots per game this season, compared to 17.3 total shots per game last season.
  • Liverpool has conceded 1.1 expected goals per game this season, compared to 1.0 expected goals per game last season.

Sources:

  • "Byline: Oliver Brown CHIEF SPORTS WRITER Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk have acquired almost an armourplating at Liverpool, with both so impervious to criticism that the club decided last summer to grant them two of the most lucrative contract extensions in the history of English football." - The Telegraph
  • "Salah should no longer be a guaranteed starter for Liverpool, according to Jamie Carragher. Following another poor display by the Egyptian, Jamie Redknapp said on Sky Sports that Salah was low on confidence." - The Telegraph
  • "Liverpool have been marginally worse in every crucial statistic this season compared to their 2024-25 triumph" - The Telegraph