Mohamed Salah is a Better Defender Than You Think
Mohamed Salah has said he doesn't have to defend much. He should know but the data suggests he still delivers off the ball at a very decent level.
Mohamed Salah doesn’t have to defend as often as he once did. The man himself explained this earlier in the campaign when asked whether Arne Slot has helped him to perform better in 2024/25.
"You see the numbers, it seems so! Now I don't have to defend much,” Salah told Sky Sports. Asked to expand on the latter comment, he added: "It is quite difficult to say one thing, but the tactics are quite different. But I told him, 'As long as you rest me defensively, I will provide offensively' - so I'm glad I did. It was the manager's idea of course, but he listens a lot."
These comments came to mind when researching Liverpool’s record-setting level of counter attacks this season. They launched a fast break against Real Madrid after Salah made a tackle within the Reds’ defensive third. Not bad going from a player who in his own words doesn’t “have to defend much”.
Granted, it wasn’t the sort of thundering challenge that would have made Tommy Smith wince. It was also early in as big a game as the Champions League offers prior to the knockout phase, not in the garbage time of a comfortable win against demoralised opposition.
Nonetheless, Salah tracked back to cover the player with the ball - more on him shortly - then regained possession. This enabled him to sprint up field to create a chance which came within a whisker of giving Liverpool the lead.
If you’re not going to defend too often, this is the way to do it. Why risk injury throwing yourself into a challenge? Nick the ball away then start heading in the direction in which you excel.
While it’s not possible to assess how frequently a player tracks back with readily available data, Salah has made more touches in the Reds’ own third of the pitch than ever before. The proportion of his total occurring there has never been as high either.
As the below heatmaps show, the Egyptian is not drifting infield as much as last season, going further back a little more often instead. Salah is sticking more to his own corridor of certainty, the right flank, in the first two-thirds of the pitch before bursting into the penalty area. Once there, he’s averaging his second most touches per 90 minutes in the opposition box in a league campaign for Liverpool.
Salah is unafraid to get involved when he’s further back, as the Real Madrid example demonstrated. His league total of seven tackles in the defensive third sounds inconsequential, but it’s more than he totalled in his first three seasons with the club. Forwards aged at least 32 rarely make more in a campaign in the big leagues.
It’s similar across the whole field. Salah has amassed 21 tackles in the league this season, whereas Kylian Mbappé, seven years his junior, has made 22… since the summer of 2022.
Cristiano Ronaldo recorded 10 across about as many minutes as the Egyptian has had this season when he returned to Manchester United, while Lionel Messi made 18 in his final season with Barcelona. This elite echelon of superstar rarely works as hard.
We can factor in interceptions, but they are also small samples. Even so, Salah’s defensive output compares well to similar forwards at the same age, or younger men in 2024/25.
These rudimentary metrics from yesteryear are looking very healthy for the Liverpool number 11, even if tactical instruction may be playing a part in why other men have lower numbers. What about pressing?
The inevitable dip Salah has seen with age has not been colossal. His average of 13.4 pressures per 90 this season isn’t far from the 14.6 he posted three years ago, for instance. It’s also close to the 14.1 from his debut campaign; then he hadn’t been fully coached in the pressing ways of Jürgen Klopp, now he’s a veteran easing up a little.
But not all that much. Arsenal’s widely admired defensive structure works fine with a broadly Salah-like level of pressing from their wide forwards. Bukayo Saka only offers an extra 1.6 pressures per 90 in the same position despite being a decade younger.
Gabriel Martinelli is just 0.9 further ahead on the opposite flank, meaning the pair have contributed less than Salah has when combined with, say, Cody Gakpo. As much as the defensive numbers for the Reds’ top scorer are interesting, it’s how he fits into the team process which matters most.
Another Sky Sports article from earlier this season highlighted how Salah’s physical data isn’t wildly different compared with five seasons ago, with his rate for sprints per 90 and top speed essentially the same in each of Liverpool’s Premier League title winning campaigns. The 32-year-old has covered less ground without slacking off, keeping his fast running for when truly needed.
You know the phrase that applies here, you probably saw it the last time you bothered to log into LinkedIn: work smarter, not harder.
Maybe the greatest trick Slot has pulled this season is convincing Salah that he is not having to defend as much when he is. The Egyptian’s strengths are being channeled more effectively than ever before.
Is Salah’s defensive workrate better than you thought? Not talked about enough?
It’s all relative but he seems to put his contemporaries largely in the shade.
Great piece, Andrew. Been looking a variety of stuff and was chatting in comments on Josh's most recent piece about, with the addition of Frimpong, for a very wild take, why not possibly push Salah to a false 9 and he can still stay high and be the outlet. I'm not sure Frimpong really could be a winger full stop in the Prem but given Bradley has put pen to paper and Salah will need coverage for AFCON, it's certainly an option or variation at Slot's disposal.