ONE TOUCH INSIGHT
Liverpool’s first season in ten years without Mohamed Salah is not a temporary hiccup; it is a structural void that the squad has not yet filled. Salah’s combination of cutting inside from the right, finishing with both feet and pulling defenders out of position is a unique blend that no current attacker on the roster replicates.
Alexander Isak brings the raw goal threat and physical presence Salah lacked, but he operates best as a central striker and does not offer the same wide‑area drills. Florian Wirtz supplies the inventive passing and ability to drift into half‑spaces, yet his output in the final third is still shy of Salah’s twenty‑goal seasons. Neither player is a like‑for‑like substitute, so Liverpool must either reshape their attacking shape or look elsewhere for a more complete replacement.
The early September clash with Manchester City will show whether Jürgen Klopp opts for a false nine, pushes a midfielder wide, or persists with a narrow front three. The team selection and formation in that game will be the first concrete test of how Liverpool intend to cope without their talisman.
Mohamed Salah
RW
Egypt
AI-assisted · generated from BBC Sport reporting, not editor reviewed
