Alan Shearer offers reason for Mohamed Salah's Liverpool downturn and predicts if it will be permanent

Liverpool struggled against an in-form Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in their toughest game of the season.

It was not the weekend fans had envisioned with the Reds losing at the hands of Oliver Glasner’s side 2-1 through a last-second winner from Eddie Nketiah, despite Federico Chiesa’s late equaliser.

However, even if the Italian’s goal had rescued a point, it would have felt undeserved given how dominant Palace were in the first half, where they had big chances every few minutes.

This defeat for Arne Slot’s side felt as if it were coming for the past five games, where they were unbeaten but struggled not to concede goals against teams such as Everton.

The individual performances of Ibrahima Konate and Milos Kerkez have been highlighted as particularly poor; however, Mohamed Salah felt non-existent in this game despite his usually incredible form.

Alan Shearer believes Mohamed Salah is lacking confidence

Salah has not looked as sensational as fans are used to so far this season, but the fact that the summer transfer window meant wholesale changes for the squad, it is not too much of a shock.

What is needed for the ‘Egyptian King’ is a standout performance against a side to regain the momentum he had from last season.

The 33-year-old has faced some criticism from pundits but less so from fans, as the team as a whole has been performing so badly, and because the front three have had changes at striker, which makes a difference in how he plays.

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Alan Shearer, the former Newcastle United forward, has noticed this trend in the Egyptian international’s form this year and believes it is not something to worry about.

On The Rest is Football podcast, Shearer pinpointed the reason why and explained why it won’t last.

He said: “I don’t know whether he’s playing a little bit wider, but he certainly doesn’t look as confident, and he’s certainly not the Salah we’re used to yet.

“I mean it will change. It’s only a matter of time, but they’re all still trying to figure out how to get the best out of each other.”

His statistics from the first six games in all competitions were at a similar level to that of the past few years, but as he has not scored or assisted this weekend, it has brought him back under the spotlight.

A Champions League night away from home and another return to Stamford Bridge against his old club, Chelsea, may just rekindle the fire he needs to get on the scoresheet.

Alan Shearer highlights Liverpool’s defensive problems and Florian Wirtz’s position as issues

Again, Salah was not the only player to struggle with Konate, causing issues that led to opportunities for Palace, and Florian Wirtz’s positioning made it a disjointed look to the side.

Shearer was concerned by the defensive woes of the side so far this season and believes it will be an issue for the side going forward.

“He (Konate) got robbed two or three times and they should have scored with a couple of his errors, but a bit of a concern for Liverpool, though, because defensively they’ve not been great at all,” he explained.

“And the chances and the way Palace went through them with ease, great players, yes, but it was so easy for them at times that would be a big concern.”

The 55-year-old also believed that trying to find Wirtz’s best position in the team has caused the squad to look out of place.

He said: “They’re still trying to work out Wirtz because they left Gakpo out yesterday, and put Wirtz on the left, Salah right, Isak down the middle, it still didn’t look right.”

There is still time for this new group of players to work out what best suits them, especially with the majority of the new signings not having played in England’s top flight before.

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