"It was a relatively bold call to drop Salah, but one that made complete sense after four successive defeats. Rotate' always comes across as if, Oh, let someone else play a little bit as well', said the Reds' head coach ahead of the game. But I said many times, we have a lot of good players and I can use them all."
"Either way, Liverpool looked more solid, whether that be due to Salah being out of the side or the change in shape, or because Frankfurt weren't actually very good - certainly the latter played a huge part in it. Salah's role, though, is a difficult one. How do you address the elephant in the room when the player in question is on a reported 400,000 per week and last season scored 34 and assisted 23?"
"Two things have hugely affected Salah's form and role this season. Firstly, the change in shape, from more of a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1 this season has seen him far wider and often less involved. Salah's average touches in the opponent's penalty area have dropped significantly this season, from 9.20 per 90 minutes last season to just 4.94 (data via FBRef)."
Florian Wirtz was deployed from a right-sided role, drifting inside behind Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak, with Mohamed Salah omitted to alter shape and rotate the squad. The rotation aimed to use the depth of quality across a congested schedule and appeared to produce a more solid Liverpool performance. Salah's role has been affected by a tactical shift from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1, forcing him wider and less involved in attacking areas. Salah's average touches in the opponent's penalty area dropped from 9.20 to 4.94 per 90 minutes, reducing his offensive influence.
Read at www.fourfourtwo.com
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