Former Manchester United -attacker Wayne Rooney did not stop in his assessment of Mohamed Salah after the late, painful defeat of Liverpool against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Although a large part of the fallout after the competition focused on waste of opportunities and heartache with a stopping time, Rooney has selected the defensive application of Salah as a great concern and argued that senior figures in the dressing room, such as Virgil van Dijk, should tackle the problem.
Salah’s outing in Stamford Bridge was remarkable for what he didn’t do. The Egyptian attacker, who has been far under his usual scoring output, this campaign, who just found the net in five of his last seven league games, missed various opportunities.
Wayne Rooney critcizes Mohamed Salah for defensive work
Those mistakes were precious, but Rooney’s criticism went beyond ending and focused entirely on defensive working speed.
According to Rooney, Salah’s positioning and tracking were back at crucial moments, so that his full-back exposure and contributed to a final winner of 96 minutes before Chelsea.
Talk about the Wayne Rooney Showsaid the former striker:
‘With the players who come in, Isak, [Hugo] Ekitike and Wirtz, the money they have spent on the, what does Salah think now?
‘Top players have an ego and Mo Salah has long been one of the best players in the competition.
‘I think the last week has shown that when things went well, your goals scores and your games win, it’s great and the team will tolerate that, but last week I would question his work ethics.
“I know he doesn’t always come back and defends so much, but in the Chelsea game his full-back is torn apart and he looks.”
Rooney believes that senior figures, such as Virgil van Dijk and Alisson, should have candid conversations with Salah about his defensive tasks.
According to Rooney, leadership in the dressing room is not only about rallies after victories, it is also about hard truths when versions dive and collective standards slip.
Rooney wants Liverpool players to communicate with Salah
He added:
‘Players such as Van Dijk and Alisson, whom I know, did not play, but the leaders in the dressing room should tell him that you should help it. For me that was a concern.
“He looked a bit lost last week, in my opinion.”
Rooney’s criticism of Salah is Bot but not without merit, Elite players are assessed on both their attacking output and their contribution to the team structure.
Liverpool must act according to this to stop their worrying results before it’s too late.
At the moment they are only one point behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race, but to have the chance to win the competition or a trophy this season, they want their best player, that is Salah at the top of his assets.
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