Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah's form has dipped to such an extent that he should not be considered an automatic starter away from home, former Reds defender Jamie Carragher said, after the Premier League champions suffered a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions.
The 33-year-old Egyptian forward, who signed a two-year contract extension in April, has been way below his record-breaking form from last season's campaign and has gone seven matches without a non-penalty goal.
Salah squandered a golden opportunity to score in Liverpool's 2-1 defeat by Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday and Carragher said he should no longer be one of the first names on the team sheet, like captain Virgil van Dijk, who was himself criticised by former Manchester United and Ireland star Roy Keane.
"Liverpool have got two away games - in the Champions League at Frankfurt and then they go to Brentford. I don't think Salah should start both of those games," Carragher told Sky Sports.
"He should always start at Anfield because Liverpool will be on top, around the edge of the box and more often than not he scores in those situations today.
"But I do think, in the away games and helping your full-back, I don't think Salah should be starting every game right now, certainly away from home, with the form he's in."
Liverpool came into Sunday's game on the back of league defeats by Crystal Palace and Chelsea, and a Champions League loss to Galatasaray.
Their poor run comes despite splashing out £446 million pounds (€513m) in the close-season transfer window and Carragher said manager Arne Slot should build the team around new signings Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz.
"It has to be Isak and Wirtz because they've spent the money on them and their age profile compared to Salah," Carragher said.
Liverpool are fourth in the league on 15 points from eight matches, four behind leaders Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Manchester United defender Harry Maguire admitted the long-awaited win at Liverpool would count for little if they were unable to maintain their momentum.
The centre-back's 84th-minute header secured a first victory at Anfield since 2016 and gave head coach Ruben Amorim back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since arriving last November.
United have now won four of the last six and are up to ninth in the table – to sit only two points behind third-placed Bournemouth – and while a long-awaited success at the home of their arch-rivals was welcome, Maguire knows the bigger picture demands more.
"This club will probably get a few plaudits this week: resilience, fighting spirit," he said.
"But if we don’t perform next weekend against Brighton, it will be exactly the same the following week so we need to build on it, we need to build momentum, we need to build positive performances – that’s the most important thing.
"Performances breed results in the end. Take the positives, take the confidence but at Old Trafford next week against Brighton, we have to make sure we perform and get the win."
In last season’s fixture Maguire had wasted a glorious chance to score a last-gasp winner so was delighted to find the target this time around, especially as he knows it could be his last act at Anfield in a United shirt.
"I’ve been here seven years now and it’s been tough not getting that win, it’s been on my mind a little bit to be honest," he added.
"I’m in my last year now so this could be the last time I play at Anfield for this club so it’s really important I came here and ticked that one off because it has been playing on my mind.
"Last year we performed really well here and had a chance to maybe win it so it’s a big, important win for myself, for each player, for the staff, for Ruben but more importantly a big win for our fans because it has been tough for them."
