MOHAMED SALAH'S LEGENDARY LIVERPOOL CAREER IS EDGING TOWARDS ITS END - HE MUST FIND ONE LAST OUNCE OF ENERGY TO ENSURE HE GOES OUT ON A HIGH

Running out of steam?

Liverpool find themselves in a very peculiar predicament. They weren’t expected to challenge for the Premier League title when the season began - and yet now it would feel like a major letdown if they don’t win it. Klopp’s imminent exit is the main reason why, of course. From the moment the beloved Liverpool manager announced his shock decision to step down at the end of the season, the question on every fan’s lips was whether the German's remarkable reign would end on a high.

The Carabao Cup represented the best possible start to the swansong, with Klopp rating it as “the most special” success of his career because of the circumstances surrounding the game, with the injury-ravaged Reds beating Chelsea thanks in no small part to the contribution of an exciting crop of kids. It was obvious that evening at Wembley that no matter how the remainder of the campaign unfolded, Klopp would leave Liverpool in rude health.

However, everyone connected with the club was still hoping for a fairy-tale farewell. They were desperate for Klopp to bow out by winning the second Premier League title he so richly deserves. The dream could yet become reality, too, with Liverpool locked in a three-way battle at the top of the table with Arsenal and Manchester City. Much, though, will depend on Salah, the other Liverpool legend who could well quit the club this summer.

Just like Klopp, Salah's legacy is already secure. Whenever he leaves Anfield, he will do so as a Kop icon and a Premier League legend. But the fear ahead of Wednesday’s Merseyside derby is that he, just like Klopp’s Liverpool, is running out of steam at the worst possible moment.

Glorious return

When Liverpool played Brentford on February 17, they lost both Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones to first-half injuries. Both were big blows - because both were in fine form. However, the eagerly-awaited return of Salah still felt like the bigger story, as it appeared as if he'd never been away.

The winger had been in sensational form before heading off to represent Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations at the start of January, involved in 26 goals in all competitions - second only to Harry Kane (33) across Europe's 'Big Five' leagues.

However, he picked up a hamstring problem in the Ivory Coast that saw him miss a number of crucial Premier League clashes, including the 3-1 loss at Arsenal, as well as the Carabao Cup final. Liverpool coped impressively well without their most prolific Premier League player ever - Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Jota really stepped up to the mark in his absence - but his comeback nonetheless felt like a monumental boost to the Reds' title bid.

In just 46 minutes of action at Brentford, he scored one goal and created another. With Salah in this kind of form, it really did feel like anything was possible for a team still chasing a quadruple at the time.

Clearly struggling

However, Salah suffered a setback immediately after his hugely encouraging cameo at the Gtech Community Stadium, ruling him out of Liverpool's next two games - and he just hasn't looked the same player since.

There have been flashes of his genius - for example, the defence-splitting pass for Diaz that really should have led to Liverpool beating Manchester City at Anfield - while his goals have effectively earned his team three precious points. There was the calm finish that turned a draw into a victory against Brighton, as well as the late leveller from the penalty spot at Manchester United the following weekend.

It's also worth pointing out that he's been involved in 10 goals since his return - as many as Vinicius Jr, and just two fewer than Kylian Mbappe. One could, thus, easily argue that he's a victim of his own incredibly high standards - but there is simply no disguising the fact that Salah is struggling at the moment. And Klopp knows it.

Right to sub Salah

On the evening of April 4, Anfield bore witness to a very rare occurrence. With Liverpool being held in a must-win meeting with Sheffield United, Klopp decided to substitute Salah. The hosts were in a dire need of a goal and yet the manager took off his talisman.

Tellingly, though, there was no fan fury. What would have normally felt like folly actually made perfect sense to those in attendance. Unlike the Brighton game, when Salah had squandered chance after chance before his late winner, he had been largely anonymous.

It was a similar story against Atalanta last week. Salah opened the scoring from the spot just seven minutes into the game in Bergamo, but then completely disappeared after wasting a glorious chance to double Liverpool's lead on the night after being put straight through on goal by Cody Gakpo.

There were still 24 minutes to go, more than enough time for the Reds to drag themselves back into the Europa League quarter-final tie, when Klopp decided to sub Salah. Again, it was the right call. Just like Liverpool, he got worse the longer the game went on.

There were those that argued that Klopp realised the game was up and thought it best to save Salah for Sunday's clash with Fulham. They were wrong, though.

'Not playing well enough'

Salah didn't even start at Craven Cottage and, truth be told, nobody was really surprised.

"Mo Salah is not an issue with tiredness because he stayed here during the international break and he was injured in the middle of the season," former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports. "He's just not playing well enough at the moment."

He’s not exactly alone in that regard, of course. Nunez has suffered a dramatic dip in form, too, and Klopp was quick to point out that Salah wasn’t the only regular starter rested for the Fulham game. “I made six changes and you only asked me about Mo,” he told Sky.

It was also significant that when asked afterwards in his post-match press conference about the importance of Jota’s return to full fitness given his reputation as Liverpool’s “best finisher”, Klopp quickly countered, “The best finisher in this club is obviously Mo Salah - by some distance.”

Salah’s numbers are down, though. Since his return from injury, his conversion rate - both in terms of shots and big chances - have both fallen even though he’s shooting with greater regularity than he was during the first half of the season. He’s also creating fewer chances per 90 minutes. The stats simply support the perception of a player trying almost too hard to get back to his best.

One final flourish?

Still, Klopp is correct when he says that Salah has experienced such slumps before. "We always had that in the past, whether it was Sadio (Mane), Bobby (Firmino) or Mo," he explained. "One of them always had these spells, but then the other guys stepped in and nobody spoke about it really. What is the problem if Mo Salah has two or three weeks after coming from injury where he is not exactly (at his best)?”

The problem is that time is running out. Liverpool have just five games remaining and they need to win them all if they’re to have any chance of winning the league, and ensuring Klopp the sweetest of send-offs.

The same goes for Salah, too, though. He may still have a year left on his contract, but it’s widely expected that he will leave this summer, most likely for Saudi Arabia, as it’s a deal that would appear to make so much financial sense for everyone involved.

The objective, then, will be to finish with a flourish, starting with the massive Merseyside derby against Everton. Klopp is likely to recall Salah to his starting line-up and he needs a big performance from the Egypt international at Goodison Park, where Liverpool have long struggled to win games.

It may seem unfair to shine the spotlight solely on Salah. Others need to play their part too, after all. Liverpool, lest anyone forget, haven’t just had a problem scoring goals in recent weeks; keeping them out has been a major issue too.

But it’s clear that if Liverpool are to have any chance of winning the title, they need peak Salah. He is their great game-changer, for so long their most reliable source of inspiration, and while he has given so much to the cause over the years, his team now needs just a little bit more magic from him.

There would, of course, be no shame in being pipped to another Premier League by Manchester City, but it would be an awful pity for both Salah and Klopp if missed opportunities became the big story of the conclusion of their legendary Liverpool careers.