Arne Slot shoots down 'weird' Mohamed Salah theory as Liverpool star's disappointment clear

Liverpool boss Arne Slot is confident that recent goal drought won't affect his chances of equaling Thierry Henry's record as a four-time Premier League Golden Boot winner. Despite being the league's top scorer with 27 goals in 30 games, six ahead of his closest competitor Erling Haaland,

The Egyptian star drew a blank in the Champions League round of 16 second leg defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, the League Cup final loss to Newcastle United

It's been a while since Salah went four matches without scoring for Liverpool - the last time was when he ended a five-game dry spell with a goal in a 2-0 Anfield derby win against Everton in February 2023.

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However, believes it wouldn't be a shock if the 32-year-old found the back of the net in Sunday's clash with Fulham, as Liverpool aims to move closer to a record-equaling 20th championship title.

"I think he's smiled less (lately) because we went out of the Champions League and we lost the final, so all of the players smiled less than when you do go through to the next round," said the Reds' head coach. "It has nothing to do with not scoring a goal.

"For me it's simple. Sometimes the fixture list is more difficult than other periods of the season - so you face Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle in a final and a derby. He hasn't scored in three, so that's why he has to score on Sunday (laughs). Hopefully he will.

"Paris Saint-Germain is one of the best teams in Europe at the moment, Newcastle in the final, oof, they were all over it, and Everton, with 10 people in its own 18-yard box all the time, it's so difficult to score a goal - not only for us, look back at all the teams, expected goal value, chances created. Goals scored against is difficult for everyone."

Salah's future at Liverpool remains a hot topic as his contract winds down, but there's optimism at Anfield that an agreement can be reached to keep him beyond his current deal. The Egyptian has been a prolific scorer since joining the Reds, clinching the Premier League Golden Boot in his first season and sharing the accolade twice more, chasing the record set by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.

And Slot remarked: "He (Salah) is completely the same but I know Mo, and you probably know him as well, he lives for goals. It would be weird if he was 'oh, I'm happy I didn't score' but he's not distracted or like 'I can't play football any more'.

"No, Mo knows probably his biggest quality is he can play a poor game and still score a goal. So his head is not all over the place. Not at all. Of course he is disappointed with us not winning the final, not going through in Europe.

"That is why he scores so many goals, because he wants it so much. So, yes, there were probably periods this season he smiled a bit more but that's not just him, that's for Virgil, that's for all the players."