‘4/10’, ‘never got a look in’: Media thought one Liverpool player struggled v Watford

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Liverpool ran out 2-0 winners over Watford at Anfield on Saturday to temporarily go top of the Premier League table.

Jurgen Klopp’s Reds dominated proceedings from the off and took the lead in the 22nd minute.

Diogo Jota got Liverpool underway with his 20th goal of the season, a header from Joe Gomez’s pinpoint cross.

It was also his seventh header for Liverpool, more than any other player has scored in the league since his Reds debut.

The Reds registered 20 efforts, but lacked the cutting edge to put the game beyond their opponents’ reach.

In the 89th minute, Liverpool finally got their second.

Juraj Kucka gifted the hosts a penalty after a challenge on Jota.

Fabinho stepped up and emphatically dispatched his spot kick to make sure of all three points.

Despite a strong Liverpool display, a two-goal haul and a clean sheet, it wasn’t exactly a routine win.

And not all of the Reds players impressed on the day.

Mohamed Salah endured an unusually quiet afternoon, failing to register a single shot on target.

“Looked tired and demotivated”

When it came to media player rating articles, the 29-year-old didn’t get great ratings.

The Liverpool Echo gave Salah 5/10 and wrote: “Met his match in (Hassane) Kamara in terms of pace despite finding some space with neat footwork first half and found it tough going after the interval. Subbed.”

Meanwhile, TEAMtalk gave him 4/10. They wrote: “Struggled against Hassane Kamara down the right wing for Liverpool and never got a look in before the break.”

TheHardTackle also went with 4/10, acknowledging that Salah looked tired after another busy international break.

“Coming on the back of a disappointing end to Egypt’s FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign, Salah looked tired and demotivated,” they wrote.

“The Player to Watch in our preview lacked the sharpness to trouble Hassane Kamara, who negated his threat superbly.

“Salah was rightly taken off midway through the second half after failing to muster a shot on target and losing possession 17 times.”

Salah was simply unplayable in the first half of the season. But with the added exertion of international duty, he now seems to have run out of steam.

Klopp really needs to give him some rest over the coming weeks. Aafter all, he’s got plenty of strength in depth in attack.