Missing old pal Sadio Mane in a slow Liverpool attack, World Cup and AFCON heartbreak with Egypt, and Klopp leaving his star man marooned on the right... why it's going wrong for Mo Salah as the goals dry up

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Liverpool having a poor season is neither news nor a revelation at this point but the reasons behind it are well up for debate.

The Reds have hit their halfway point of the season with just 29 points on the board and sit ninth in the table following a frustrating 0-0 draw with Chelsea last Saturday. 

Naturally, there are many talking points but there is little doubt that the club's struggles are linked with star forward Mohamed Salah who has been unable to hit his previous lofty heights this season. 

Salah played the full 90 minutes at Anfield against the Blues but struggled on the right side of the attack as he recorded his fourth Premier League game without a goal contribution for the first time in two years.

Given the fact the 30-year-old has not looked at his best all season, Sportsmail has looked at the reasons why the forward is struggling to hit his best form.

Mohamed Salah has struggled to produce his best form for Liverpool this season

International heartbreak with Egypt

It's not just Saturday, since the World Cup or even this season that Salah has looked a little off form. You can argue that the Egyptian has been not been his usual goal grabbing self for nearly a year.

A key moment can be attributed to the Africa Cup of Nations final last February. Before setting off for the competition in Cameroon, Salah was in fine form - having scored 23 goals in 26 matches across all matches during the first half of the season.

But he would face heartbreak while away with Egypt, losing the final on penalty kicks against Senegal via a shootout where he didn't get the opportunity to take a spot-kick. To rub salt into the wound, Reds' team-mate Sadio Mane converted the winning penalty.

But if that wasn't bad enough, a month later Egypt played Senegal again, with the match also going to penalties with a place in the World Cup finals on the line.

This time Salah did take a spot-kick - but crucially he missed. And once again it was Mane dispatching the winning penalty to send Egypt tumbling out and Senegal to Qatar.

His form nosedived for the Reds for the rest of the season, scoring just eight goals from the remaining 25 matches following his AFCON return and just three times in 15 games after the World Cup KO.

While his numbers have improved slightly this term, 17 goals from 29 games, he still does not look as dangerous during matches. 

Losing the AFCON final last year started a period of decline for the Egyptian forward (left)

New front line not firing

It was always going to look like an impossible task but trying to recreate a trio as lethal as Mane, Roberto Firmino and Salah at their peak has really had a heavy impact at Anfield.

With Firmino appearing to be past his best and Mane having been sold to Bayern Munich in the summer, it's a transitional period for the Liverpool attack.

Liverpool were wise enough to recognise the issue though and have invested heavily, signing Luis Diaz a year ago and Darwin Nunez in the summer for a combined £135m.

But both have had misfortune. Diaz has been crocked with a knee injury since October and won't be expected back until March, while Nunez is still finding his feet having so far failed to live up to expectations. Cody Gakpo's arrival this month is far too soon to cast any judgement.

None of this is Salah's fault of course but it does it mean the almost telepathic understanding he had previously with Mane and Firmino is long gone and the on-field advantages it carried over has evaporated with it.

Liverpool have struggled to replace Sadio Mane (left) who linked up excellently with Salah

Midfield in transition

It's not just Liverpool's frontline either that is of concern, if anything the biggest squad issue the Reds have is trying to add fresh legs to a creaking midfield.

One thing it's not is inexperienced, with wise old heads and winners' medals by the bucket load in the likes of captain Jordan Henderson, Thigao Alcantara, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner.

Oxlade-Chamberlain aside - they are all on the wrong side of 30, but even then the former Arsenal star has been plagued with injuries during his time at Anfield to mark his struggles to being a regular every game.

Naby Keita has proven to be a useful squad player during his near five-years at the club but the likes of Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott are still looking a little raw despite showing promising ability.

There is no middle ground with Jurgen Klopp's midfield who are in need of recruitments that have already become established stars and also have the legs to carry the team into the future - which is why they are in the hunt for Jude Bellingham.

The end result right now though is Salah's source for chances is not delivering the goods like it once did.

Jordan Henderson (right) has been a key part of Liverpool's midfield for over a decade

Liverpool not playing to his strengths

If there was one thing that left opposing sides and fans terrified it was the sight of Salah running onto a pass and bearing down on goal.

Yet it does seem a rarer site these days. Liverpool's often brutal counter attacks would often see the explosive power of Salah pick up the ball in space quickly and advance towards an almost inevitable goal.

Those are becoming less frequent at Anfield though. Liverpool are a little slower in upping the tempo than they have been in recent years and that does not play to the Egyptian's strengths. 

The double effect of this is this has given defences more time to close up on Salah and effectively clip his wings. The fact he has been forced out wider to the right by Klopp has not helped either.

Granted, he isn't quite man-marked out of game given his modest goals record this season but Liverpool's often relatively ponderous attacking build up is detrimental to Salah's game.

Jurgen Klopp's tactics this term have forced Salah out to the right and have limited the forward

Past his best?  

Salah's drop in form could also come from a factor that no footballer can beat... good old Father Time.

At his explosive best Salah had the pace and energy to relentlessly attack opponents for 90 minutes but that appears to have waned in recent times.

Not only does he look unable to dart past a defender as ruthlessly and as often as he once did, but his agility is also seemingly starting to ebb away from him - with his cut-back onto his left foot and curling in an effort on goal another feature we don't see as much now.

Salah's run of four league games without goal contributions is his worst run for two years

That's not to say Salah is finished - far from it. Even now his form could just be part of a blip and you only have to see the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to show how players can still perform at the top level long into their 30s.

But it is a concerning feature for Reds fans in what is already becoming a forgettable campaign on Merseyside.