Micah Richards names the unspoken reason which could be behind Mohamed Salah’s struggles against Newcastle

Micah Richards has pinpointed the reasons behind Mohamed Salah’s recent struggles on the pitch after an underwhelming displays in the Carabao Cup final. 

Salah had very little impact as the Reds were beaten 2-1 by Newcastle at Wembley on Sunday afternoon, the Magpies ending a 70-year wait for a domestic trophy.

The defeat came just days after their elimination from the Champions League at the hands of PSG on Tuesday – where Salah was also kept relatively quiet.

Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, former City full-back Richards said: ‘Don’t forget Salah is in Ramadan now as well where he’s fasting. 

‘It’s only normal that he’s not gonna have the same energy levels as when he can eat.

‘For him to be actually on that pitch playing at that level is absolutely outstanding just to be there you know.’

Micah Richards thinks that Ramadan may be partly responsible for his recent displays

During Ramadan, the holiest month of the Islamic calendar, many Muslims will not eat or drink during daylight hours from February 28 until March 30. They break this fast when the sun has set.

That means it will be over the next time Salah lines up for the Merseyside outfit, who don’t play again until April 2. 

‘I think this team is so reliant on Mo Salah,’ Richards continued. ‘Expecting a worldie from him, a penalty, a free kick… whatever it may be. 

‘I just thought from Liverpool’s point of view the performance was a bit flat. Maybe it was psychologically from the PSG result.’

Slot has lost two games in a row for the first time in his career but refused to focus on the negatives and pointed to the fact his team have moved 12 points clear of Arsenal in the last week.

Slot said: ‘It took us seven months to lose twice in a row and it happened against two teams — one fighting for Champions League places and the other is PSG.

‘At the moment PSG are probably the best team in Europe but I want to make clear, the week started really well by us beating Southampton so the lead is 12 points. You know if you go further into tournaments that the opposition get stronger and stronger. And even Liverpool can lose games.

‘It is 70 years since they (Newcastle) last won a trophy but that is for the fans. The players have 15 years to play football and they want to win every single trophy they play for, and that is also what we want.

Salah and Liverpool have seen themselves crash out of two tournaments in the space of days

‘They got some extra energy with the goal, which they probably deserved, so I don’t think there was more hunger for them. The game went the way they wanted it to.’

Asked if Liverpool’s deficiencies were physical or mental, Slot replied: ‘Mentally is always hard to judge. Were we [at it] on Tuesday? No, but this was a game that had nothing to do with running, so you could not judge if we were tired.

‘There was nothing to press because they played over our press. A lot of set-pieces. The game was slow, not intense, so it’s difficult to judge if we were physically ready.

‘Mentally, I prefer to look at how the game went exactly the way they wanted — with a lot of duels and a lot through the air.

‘If we play 10 games of football through the air, they win nine times, which led to the first goal and the second.’

Liverpool do not play again until April due to the international break. But Slot wishes he could be straight back to work and added: ‘We are one of the biggest clubs in the world but it is not the first time they have lost two games in a row. I would have loved to play next week.’