Lethal Salah tops Kop legend Roger with another show of pure genius
Paralysed by the speed of foot and movement, Harry Maguire could only stand and watch the game being taken away from leicester City. Mo salah scampered clear having turned him 180 degrees. He finished past Kasper schmeichel; his second on the day and 23rd of a quite extraordinary season.
so extraordinary, in fact, that no liverpool player has scored this many before new year in a campaign since the great roger Hunt in 1961. and that was in the old second division. Maguire was too tight — his only blemish all afternoon — but this was about salah. His wiry dart, his low centre of gravity, his precise finish. It was a moment that had Jurgen Klopp reaching for the dVds to demonstrate that the egyptian is surpassing all expectations.
‘It is remarkable and the goals themselves are remarkable,’ Klopp said. ‘I’d like to show you the scouting footage we had from the games we saw. a goal like this was not involved in them.’
salah is even surprising those who felt emboldened enough to part with £39million to bring him back to a division in which he had struggled previously, albeit with minimal chances at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho.
Klopp admitted as much. Neither he nor anyone at Fenway sports Group — liverpool’s owners — could have predicted this. salah has been involved in more goals (22) than Premier league appearances (21). He has 17, only one behind Harry Kane. His has scored more in all competitions than eight top-flight clubs.
Technical director Michael edwards, maligned for his transfer dealings, will certainly be smiling. Pep Guardiola claimed huge fees can quickly look very cheap while dissecting Virgil van dijk’s monstrous £75m move and that rings true with salah.
edwards is right to take praise, but given Klopp’s point that the 25-yearold is scoring different sorts of goals than the player they bought, enormous credit should go to the manager too.
‘He is angry at me when I take him off,’ Klopp added. ‘ That’s the mentality you need. He makes us more unpredictable with different systems. He can play striker, second striker, the No 10. He always plays a little more than a second striker. you’ll take that because it makes life uncomfortable for the opponent.’
If Kevin de Bruyne does not pick up Player of the year, it will likely be because salah — a doubt for tomorrow’s game at Burnley — has his hands on it instead.
Ian Wright almost stopped himself but ultimately gave in to hyperbole on television, claiming: ‘He gives me a Messi vibe with his style.’ a little too much, granted, but salah does own similar zeal.
His productivity went some way to masking defensive deficiencies against leicester, Joel Matip’s lazy early pass culminating in Jamie Vardy’s opener. Van dijk, sat alongside his daughter, watched on from the posh seats. It is not on Merseyside they truly need him, however, with Vardy’s goal only the fourth conceded there all season. Teams are scared to attack liverpool at anfield, fearful of the damage salah and others can inflict.
away games will hold the true test of his value, although surviving the final minutes of this — with the propeller arms of Christian Fuchs hurling havoc into the box — was viewed as a triumph.
‘It only took us two years to defend the throw-ins of leicester properly!’ Klopp added. ‘Probably a year ago we would’ve conceded three.
‘It was really good to see that we were absolutely spot on. all of them were aggressive. The often-blamed last line did brilliantly.’
Maybe Van dijk’s shadow from the stands acted as encouragement, while salah’s light still invigorates liverpool.