The team's loss at Stamford Bridge was their third in eight days, with Arsenal moving to the top of the table. Salah has scored just three goals and provided three assists in nine appearances across all competitions this season, a far cry from his stellar standards.

A key issue is Salah's lack of defensive effort, particularly when Liverpool is under pressure. In the match against Chelsea, he took little interest in helping his teammates, and the right-back Conor Bradley was left exposed, earning a booking and being substituted at halftime.

The winning goal for Chelsea came from the right flank, where Salah was supposed to be providing protection but was instead caught out by Marc Cucurella's run. Cucurella revealed that their manager told them to target the space left vacant by Salah, highlighting the issue.

This is a continuation of a dip in form for Salah since the end of last season, when he scored 29 goals in 38 league matches and won the Premier League Golden Boot. However, since scoring twice against Southampton in March, he has netted just two goals in his last 11 games, including a Champions League exit against Paris Saint-Germain.

Salah had previously boasted that he had convinced manager Arne Slot to let him focus on scoring and creating, rather than defending. However, this approach is now backfiring as opponents exploit the gaps left by it.

Former Manchester United and England star Wayne Rooney and former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy have criticized Salah's work rate, with Rooney saying that he needs to "help out" more, especially when the team is under pressure.

Manager Arne Slot has called for patience, saying that Salah is a human being and not always able to create chances.

However, Slot also left Salah on the bench for the first hour of the Champions League defeat at Galatasaray, which may have affected his performance against Chelsea. The issue remains for Liverpool to address if they want to overcome their current slump.