LONDON — Mohamed Salah is Liverpool's "Egyptian King", but the forward's crown has lost a little of its luster during a disappointing spell in which his work ethic has come under fire.

Salah was below his best again in Liverpool's damaging 2-1 defeat at Chelsea on Saturday, wasting several chances and failing to help out in defense.

He has been absent from the scoresheet in five of Liverpool's seven Premier League games this season, and the champion has suffered as a result. The loss at Stamford Bridge was Liverpool's third in eight days, as Arsenal leapfrogged it into the top spot in the table.

Salah has scored just three goals and provided three assists in nine appearances in all competitions this season. Even more alarming than Salah's statistics, mediocre by his stellar standards, was the sight of the 33-year-old taking little interest when Liverpool was under siege against Chelsea.

Without any protection from the forward, Liverpool right-back Conor Bradley was hauled off at halftime after earning a booking as he struggled to keep Chelsea at bay.

The killer ball for Estevao Willian's stoppage-time winner came from Salah's right flank, with Marc Cucurella advancing unchecked to set up the Brazilian's goal.

Cucurella revealed Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca told them to exploit the defensive space left by Salah.

"We know that Salah is always ready for the counterattack, so we practiced that, and the manager said that the space might be there," he said.

Salah's lethargic display was in keeping with a major dip in form since the closing stages of last season.

He scored 29 goals in 38 league matches, earning the Premier League Golden Boot, as Liverpool powered to a record-equalling 20th English title.

But, after scoring twice in a 3-1 win against Southampton in March, Salah's influence has waned.

'You need to help'

He netted just twice in his last 11 games in all competitions, with Liverpool crashing out of the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain during his power outage.

After Liverpool clinched the Premier League title, Salah boasted he had convinced Reds boss Arne Slot to let him concentrate on scoring and creating at the expense of defending.

"I told him as long as you rest me defensively, I will provide offensively. I will show you the numbers. So, I'm glad that I did," he said.

But, giving Salah so much freedom is starting to backfire, as opponents exploit the gaping holes resulting from that plan.

Former Manchester United and England star Wayne Rooney has joined the growing chorus of disapproval over Salah's work rate.

"We know he doesn't always get back and defend as much, but in the Chelsea game, his fullback is getting torn apart and he's just watching," he said on the BBC's Wayne Rooney Show.

"When it's going well and you are scoring goals, the team will put up with that. But, over the last week, I'd question his work ethic.

"Those leaders in that dressing room should be telling him: 'You need to help out'. He's looked a little bit lost over the last week."

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy agrees with Rooney.

"It feels like Mohamed Salah's lack of defensive work has become a little bit of a problem for Liverpool, especially against the better teams," he said.

Slot must solve the issue if Liverpool is to emerge from its malaise.

Intriguingly, he left Salah on the bench for the first hour of last week's Champions League defeat at Galatasaray, while conceding that decision might have led to his lack of sharpness against Chelsea.

"That's interesting. Did he create so much because he didn't play during the week, or did he miss the chances because he missed a bit of sharpness that he could have had if he had played against Galatasaray? We will never know," the Dutchman said.

For now, Slot is preaching patience as he looks to get Salah back on track.

"It's not like every chance he gets is always a goal," Slot said.

"We feel sometimes it is, because of what he has done so many times before, but, yeah, he is a human being."

AFP