Liverpool: Shock new statistic revealed that lays bare Mohamed Salah's Carabao Cup final struggles | OneFootball

Extent of Reds superstar’s lack of impact against Newcastle at Wembley saw him set an unlikely first in his Anfield career

Struggle: Mohamed Salah was unable to influence proceedings as Liverpool lost to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley

Getty Images

Mohamed Salah endured an uncharacteristically quiet performance as Liverpool lost the Carabao Cup final to Newcastle.

The Reds’ superstar attacking talisman unusually struggled to register any sort of meaningful impact during Sunday’s showpiece fixture at Wembley as they went down 2-1 after substitute Federico Chiesa’s stoppage-time goal was not enough to inspire a last-gasp fightback after efforts either side of half-time from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak.

Salah was mostly anonymous for Liverpool against Newcastle bar one or two brief glimpses of attacking promise, with a post-match statistic supplied by Opta Sports revealing just how much of a major anomaly his performance was in terms of a memorable eight-year stint on Merseyside.

According to Opta, the Egyptian forward failed to attempt a single shot or create any chances in a match where he featured for 90 minutes or more for the very first time in an illustrious Liverpool career that began with his £34million return to English football from Serie A side Roma in 2017 and has since taken in almost 400 appearances across all competitions.

Salah has 243 goals and 110 assists during that span, good for third on the club’s list of all-time top scorers behind only the great Ian Rush and England’s 1966 World Cup winner Roger Hunt.

The 32-year-old will hope to bounce back quickly after an international break where he will be in action for Egypt - whom he captains - in 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, with Liverpool next in action when they host rivals Everton in the latest instalment of the Merseyside derby at Anfield on April 2.

Recent minor blip aside, Salah is still enjoying one of his best-ever, record-setting seasons for the Reds, comfortably leading the respective Premier League Golden Boot and European Golden Shoe races with 32 goals and 22 assists in 43 appearances across all competitions.

It remains to be seen where he will be playing his club football beyond the end of the current campaign, though, with Salah, like team-mates Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, out of contract at Liverpool in the summer and still yet to agree terms over an extension.

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has now urged his former club to go out and sign two new starting-level attackers in the next transfer market to hopefully play alongside and assist Salah.