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If Mohamed Salah fails to score or provide an assist, Liverpool’s chances of losing increase dramatically — nearly sevenfold, according to the statistics.

When Arne Slot took charge of Liverpool in 2024, he likely did not anticipate that, despite Mohamed Salah’s brilliance, he was inheriting one of the most dominant individual seasons in Premier League history.

In the 2024/25 campaign, the Egyptian forward recorded 47 goal involvements in 38 matches, guiding Liverpool to the Premier League title with 84 points and 25 domestic victories.

Across all competitions, Salah participated in 57 goals as Liverpool earned 38 wins, though they were eliminated from the Champions League by PSG and lost the Carabao Cup final to Newcastle United.

Since Arne Slot’s appointment, spanning 100 matches, Salah has either scored or assisted in 50 of them, while failing to do so or being unavailable in the remaining 50.

During games where Salah contributes to a goal, Liverpool boast an impressive 82 per cent win rate — 41 wins, six draws, and just three defeats. Since Slot’s arrival, Salah has been directly involved in 74 goals in 87 appearances for the Reds.

In stark contrast, when Salah fails to register a goal involvement, Liverpool’s win percentage drops to just 44 per cent — managing 22 wins, seven draws, and 20 losses.

In matches without Salah’s scoring or assisting impact, the team under Slot is almost seven times more likely to lose, based on an identical 50-game sample for each scenario.

The Dutch manager’s dependency on his star winger borders on the comical — akin to a scene from a Mr Bean sketch, where the protagonist succeeds only by copying from a neighbour’s paper.

When Salah, ranked fifth on FourFourTwo’s list of the greatest Premier League players ever, fails to influence the scoreline, Liverpool’s chances of victory drop nearly by half — from 41 wins in 50 games to merely 22.

That pattern continued during Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Galatasaray on Tuesday evening, a match where Salah did not contribute. A similar result occurred earlier in September, when the Reds again lost 1-0 to the Super Lig leaders without the Egyptian on the scoresheet.

Slot’s decision-making has raised eyebrows, particularly his choice to substitute Salah before the 60th minute against Galatasaray — despite the winger having scored in the second half of his previous two matches. The move appears even more puzzling when Salah’s goal distribution by 15-minute intervals is examined.

Between minutes 1 and 45, Salah has scored just under 38 per cent of his goals for Liverpool, while roughly 62 per cent have come in the second half.

Specifically, from minutes 61 to 75, over 20 per cent of Salah’s goals have been scored, and nearly 23 per cent between minutes 76 and 90.

In the ongoing 2025/26 season, Salah’s numbers have dipped to career lows at Liverpool — including shots per 90 minutes, shots on target per 90, expected goals (xG), and big chances per 90. His xG per shot is also the lowest he has recorded since joining the club, according to Opta data.

Slot’s inability to effectively utilise Salah’s movement — particularly in the absence of key partners like Trent Alexander-Arnold, Darwin Nunez, and Luis Diaz — risks undermining what could be the Egyptian’s final season at Anfield, potentially closing a chapter many consider the greatest in Liverpool’s storied history.

It’s possible that Slot is attempting to develop a system less reliant on Salah, or perhaps he simply hasn’t recognised the impact of his tactical adjustments.

Whatever the reasoning, choosing to marginalise one of football’s most consistent superstars in favour of less efficient forwards could go down as one of the most astonishing cases of mismanagement in the sport’s modern era.

Ultimately, as Arne Slot has benefited from Mohamed Salah’s brilliance, he may also face the consequences of sidelining him if the situation does not change soon.