Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Ain’t snow stopping us now!
RED-HOT Liverpool defied the big freeze to ease past Newcastle at Anfield last night.
Jurgen Klopp’s side moved up to second in the Premier League thanks to goals from Mo Salah and Sadio Mane.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hailed Salah, and said: “He’s on fire and has been doing it all season. Sadio Mane has been brilliant too, while Bobby [Roberto Firmino] does a lot of work that goes unnoticed.
“We’re in a good moment. We need to keep that momentum now. Jordan Henderson is the best at staying angry on the pitch.
“Players like myself and Sadio are smilers!”
IT is not just the mounting splendour of the statistics, as phenomenal as they are.
It is not just the topping of various performance charts, as impressive as that is.
When it comes to acclaiming the outstanding footballer of this season’s Premier League, Kevin De Bruyne – a shoo-in for an age – has a serious rival.
Mo Salah is that good.
His value to this Liverpool team can be measured, if you wish, on his 32 goals in all competitions this season – the same tally as Newcastle United’s.
Or it can be gauged by his nine assists, his goals-per-minute ratio of one every 90 minutes or so, or his goal/assists-per-minute ratio (whatever that is) of one every 70 minutes or so. Maybe you would like to rank him on the fact he has scored more regularly in his debut Premier League season for Liverpool than Sergio Aguero did in his first campaign for Manchester City or Robin van Persie did in his opener with Manchester United.
But the numbers are only half the equation in this truly stunning run of form.
This was by no means Salah’s most brow-raising display. On occasion, the competition’s quickest feet dithered, occasionally he selected the dud option.
Yet for the attritional section of this match, it was always Salah who looked like making something happen.
It is Salah who tosses the stardust in this very well-structured Liverpool team,
Salah who can scrunch up the most carefully-laid spoiling plan, Salah who now strikes fear.
Let’s be honest, not many thought they would be saying that when he enrolled in Jurgen Klopp’s camp last summer.
This is a formidably energetic, quick side and Salah adds that unpredictability.
Unpredictability with an eminently predictable end result.
If Salah maintains this form, there is no reason why Liverpool should not at least have a squeak of repeating the European achievement of the side managed by the man who sat in the opposition dugout last night.
They are certainly in prime form and it is not just down to Salah, naturally.
The influence of Virgil van Dijk, for example, is quietly growing. On the sort of evening when the Bovril is for pouring over your hands, not drinking, Van Dijk looked suitably chilled. Chilled out, that is. He is certainly a calm defender and that is half the battle.
And he points a lot, waves a lot, that could be the other half.
Van Dijk will make a great manager when he packs the playing in, if this 90 minutes of non-stop orchestration is anything to go by.
He should take a baton out with him next time.
Seriously, though, he seems to be a born co-ordinator and Klopp probably believes that quality to be worth a decent chunk of the £75million fee.
At less than half that eye-watering sum, Salah has clearly been spectacular value for money and for a good while here, was the only participant likely to send the right sort of shiver though the patrons.
Once he had scored from one of his more routine chances this season, the outcome of proceedings was in no doubt, even before Sadio Mane struck sweetly.
This was far from fluent, far from spectacular, but Liverpool are currently a confidently efficient collection of players. There is justified, excitable chatter of how Pep Guardiola has improved the likes of Raheem Sterling, but – on current form – Klopp has done similarly sterling work with the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The same could be said of his handling of Andrew Robertson, but maybe not for Salah’s case.
Salah had proved himself an exceptional player in his time in Serie A, but many were just too blinkered to notice.
Liverpool noticed, are reaping the considerable benefits and while De Bruyne should still be crowned Player of the Year, it would not exactly be a rank injustice if Salah pipped him to it.
The stats are good, the player is better.
Van Dijk is a born co-ordinator. He’ll make a great boss when he packs it in