Mohamed Salah plays as an inside forward from the right wing: a left-footer who starts wide, then attacks the space between the opposing left-back and left centre-back to shoot, usually across the goalkeeper towards the far corner. At Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp and Arne Slot he was essentially a second striker disguised as a winger, and since August 2026 he has played the same right-sided role for Trabzonspor in Turkey.
Key Takeaways
- Salah is a left-footed right winger whose main job is to get into scoring positions, not to hug the touchline.
- In 2024-25 he had 29 goals and 18 assists in the Premier League, a record 47 goal involvements in a 38-game season.
- He scored 257 goals in 442 appearances for Liverpool before leaving in summer 2026.
- His numbers dropped sharply in 2025-26, partly because Trent Alexander-Arnold's passes into his runs were no longer there.
- He captained Egypt to their first World Cup knockout win in 2026 and joined Trabzonspor on a two-year deal in August 2026.
What Position Does Mohamed Salah Play?
Salah is a right winger, but in practice he is a goalscorer who starts from the right. Klopp's Liverpool used a 4-3-3 with three forwards who all attacked the box, and Salah's role was to stay high on the right, receive in the channel and get to the penalty area as often as possible.
That is why he is better described as an inside forward than a traditional winger. A traditional winger beats his man and crosses. An inside forward cuts inside and shoots. Salah's 32 Premier League goals in 2017-18, his first season at Liverpool, set the scoring standard for the role and showed that a wide player could be the team's main goal threat. Our guide to winger roles explains the difference between the types.
How Does Salah Score So Many Goals?
He scores so many goals because of where he runs and how simple his finishing is. His most famous move is the diagonal run from the right touchline into the gap between the left-back and left centre-back, timed to receive a pass in stride. Once he is inside, he has the classic left-footer's options: curl it to the far corner, drive it near post, or cut back onto his right if the defender over-commits.
He is also ruthlessly economical. He rarely takes an extra touch inside the box, and he is happy to score tap-ins from the far post when the attack develops on the other side. A huge share of his Liverpool goals came from inside the area rather than spectacular long-range shots, which is the mark of a forward who understands where goals are scored.
Salah isn't a winger who scores. He's a striker who happens to start on the right.
The front three around him made it work. Under Klopp, Roberto Firmino often dropped off the front line as a false 9, pulling a centre-back out of position. Sadio Mané attacked from the left at the same time. That left the space between the opposing left-back and centre-back for Salah to run into, and with the centre-back distracted by Firmino, there was often nobody to pick him up. Many of his goals in that era started with a Firmino movement that never appeared on the scoresheet.
Why does he stay so high up the pitch?
Because his position is part of the team's plan. By staying high on the right when Liverpool defended, he left the opposition left-back with a dilemma: push forward and leave space behind him, or stay back and give up width. That made him an immediate outlet in transition, ready to run into the space as soon as Liverpool won the ball.
How Did Salah's Role Change Under Arne Slot?
Under Slot in 2024-25, Salah was given licence to stay high and concentrate on attacking, and it produced the best season of his career. Liverpool won the Premier League, and Salah had 29 league goals and 18 assists, 47 goal involvements, a new record for a 38-game Premier League season, as Liverpool FC detailed. He also won the Golden Boot and the Playmaker Award in the same season.
The partnership with Trent Alexander-Arnold was central to that. Alexander-Arnold provided 147 line-breaking passes to Salah that season, at least 39 more than any other combination in the league, according to Opta analysis published by the Premier League. That pattern, the right-back's long pass into Salah's diagonal run, was one of the most dependable attacking moves in English football.
By the numbersIn 2024-25, Salah had 29 goals and 18 assists in the Premier League, a record 47 goal involvements in a 38-game season (Liverpool FC). He left Liverpool with 257 goals in 442 appearances (ESPN).
Why Did Salah's Form Drop in 2025-26?
His output fell mainly because the service and the space changed. After Alexander-Arnold left for Real Madrid, the line-breaking passes into Salah's runs dried up. Early in the season, Opta found his touches in the opposition box had dropped from 9.6 to 5.5 per 90 minutes, and his expected goals per 90 had halved from 0.63 to 0.32, according to the Premier League's analysis.
Defenders were also playing tighter to him, pushing him into wider, less dangerous positions near the touchline. Interestingly, his creative numbers held up much better than his goalscoring, which suggests the issue was more about getting into the box than any loss of quality on the ball. In March 2026 he announced he would leave Liverpool at the end of the season after nine years.
Watch forWhen Salah's team has the ball deep on the right, watch his first movement. If he jogs towards the touchline and then suddenly darts diagonally inside, he is asking for the ball between the left-back and centre-back. Whether that pass arrives tells you more about his game than his dribbles do.
What Is Mohamed Salah's Weakness?
His main weaknesses are reliance on his left foot and limited defensive work. Most of his goals come from the same pattern, cutting in onto his left, so well-organised defences try to show him outside onto his right. He scores with his right and his head, but far less often.
Defensively, coaches have long accepted that he will not track the opposition left-back all the way back. That creates space down Liverpool's right side when the ball is lost, which teams tried to exploit by attacking quickly into the area behind him. The trade-off made sense while he was scoring 25 or more goals a season. As his numbers fell in 2025-26, the cost became harder to justify, and it is the main tactical question as he moves into his mid-30s.
How Did Salah Play at the 2026 World Cup and for Trabzonspor?
At the 2026 World Cup he captained Egypt to their first-ever wins at the tournament and their first knockout round. Egypt beat Australia on penalties in the round of 32, with Salah scoring a Panenka in the shoot-out despite a hamstring problem, before leading Argentina 2-0 in the last 16 and losing 3-2 to three late goals, as Al Jazeera reported. For Egypt he plays a freer role than he did at Liverpool, often as the main target for counter-attacks.
In August 2026 he signed a two-year contract with Trabzonspor as a free agent, according to ESPN. He wears the number 10 there but plays in the familiar role on the right, cutting in on his left foot. In a league where he faces fewer elite defenders, the question is less whether he can still score than how much the team will build around his runs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mohamed Salah left-footed?
Yes, Mohamed Salah is left-footed. He plays on the right wing so that he can cut inside onto his stronger foot, which is the classic inside-forward profile. His most famous finish, the curled shot from the right side of the box into the far corner, is played with his left foot, which is why defenders try to show him outside onto his right.
Which club does Mohamed Salah play for now?
Mohamed Salah plays for Trabzonspor in the Turkish Süper Lig. He joined on a two-year contract in August 2026 after leaving Liverpool, where his contract ran out at the end of June 2026. He scored 257 goals in 442 appearances for Liverpool and won the Premier League twice and the Champions League in his nine years at the club.
What was Mohamed Salah's best season?
His best season statistically was 2024-25 under Arne Slot, when he had 29 goals and 18 assists in the Premier League, a record 47 goal involvements in a 38-game season. Liverpool won the league, and he won the Golden Boot, the Playmaker Award and the PFA Players' Player of the Year. His 32-goal 2017-18 debut season is the other strong candidate.
Is Mohamed Salah a winger or a striker?
Salah is technically a right winger, but he plays more like a striker. He starts wide, then makes diagonal runs inside to attack the space between the full-back and centre-back. That is why he is often called an inside forward. His goal tallies have regularly matched or beaten those of specialist number 9s in the Premier League.