Mohamed Salah goal at Old Trafford highlights Manchester United's embarrassing struggles

Mohamed Salah has made Old Trafford his personal training ground in recent seasons, becoming the first player to score on five straight-away appearances at Manchester United in Premier League history.

Salah added another one to his tally on Sunday, slotting home a clean first-time finish with his left foot in the 56th minute after Dominik Szoboszlai played him free. That strike takes him to 10 at Old Trafford since January 21, 2021, when he scored twice in a 3-2 FA Cup loss to the Red Devils.

Remarkably, that tally earns him a tie for fifth on the list of all goalscorers at the home of Manchester United in that period. Salah is behind only Marcus Rashford (31), Bruno Fernandes (29), Cristiano Ronaldo (17), and Scott McTominay (13).

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How did Manchester United end up so putrid and embarrassing in front of goal in recent seasons? The main culprit has been a series of porous transfers.

In the summer of 2021, United signed winger Jadon Sancho for an eye-watering €85 million ($94 million). Despite being longtime admirers of the player, the team had no concrete plan for Sancho and he only managed 12 goals in 83 games.

In 2022, new manager Erik Ten Haag brought Brazilian forward Antony with him from Ajax for a staggering €95 million ($105 million). His record is remarkably similar to Sancho's: 11 goals in 83 games.

United's 2023 window has shown signs of promise, as young striker Rasmus Hojlund was brought in from Atalanta for €73.9 million ($81 million) and watched him score 16 goals in his maiden campaign. As a whole, Manchester United's goalscoring has taken a massive nosedive since the retirement of longtime manager Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.

The club has only scored 70 goals in a league once since then, scoring 73 goals in 2020-21 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. United have averaged 57.5 league goals in Erik Ten Haag's first two Premier League campaigns.

The story has been far rosier for Liverpool in recent years. The Reds have scored 70 or more goals 8 times since Ferguson retired, peaking at 101 in 2013-14.

In Jurgen Klopp's seven full seasons at the club, Liverpool never scored fewer than 68 goals in any Premier League campaign. That's what happens when you have a front-three of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, and Mo Salah - as well as employ one of the greatest managers of the 21st century.

Salah has crept up to third on Liverpool's all-time scoring list with 214 goals for the club. He's only behind Ian Rush (339) and Roger Hunt (262).