Relentless Salah rises above Red legends with underrated trick
When Mohamed Salah joined Liverpool, the 20-goal barrier felt just that. In five of the seven previous seasons, Liverpool’s leading marksman finished with a tally in the teens. In 2016-’17, the season they were scouting him at Roma, Philippe Coutinho led the way with 14.
In 2023-’24, amid a rout of Sparta Prague, Salah made it 20 goals. That might not seem noteworthy, given he always does, given he has raised the bar to such an extent that 30 can feel the new 20 for him. Salah has got there four times; he may yet make it 30 for a fifth campaign.
Jurgen Klopp greeted news of the Egyptian’s 20th with a metaphorical shrug. “The stat is not really surprising because he is an outstanding player,” he said.
Yet 20 is still an historic first. No one else had reached the milestone in seven successive seasons for Liverpool. Not Ian Rush or Kenny Dalglish, Robbie Fowler or Michael Owen, Kevin Keegan or Roger Hunt, not any of the succession of superb forwards who have graced Anfield. Instead, Salah has become Liverpool’s man for all seasons.
“In seven years together with him, the one problem we never had was consistency,” said Klopp. Salah, who never got 20 goals in a campaign before signing for Liverpool, has never failed to do so since then.
His astonishing debut campaign on Merseyside yielded 44, but he has proved no one-season wonder.
“Mo is just delivering and delivering and delivering, his desire doesn’t stop, his quality is there and his desire to score doesn’t stop,” added Klopp. “He has improved in so many aspects since he started here. That’s how it is, he will not stop.”
Development
And if Salah’s development reflects on his own relentlessness, it reflects well on Klopp, who first elevated him to a new level and then helped keep him there, who designed a formation where he could excel as a narrow winger, who created an environment that Salah was reluctant to quit for the Saudi millions, there was a timeliness to his latest feat: Michael Edwards, returning to Liverpool as Fenway Sports Group’s CEO of football, helped persuade Klopp to sign Salah instead of the less prolific Julian Brandt.
Even as Salah has amassed formidable figures, Klopp has rarely concentrated on the numbers themselves. Salah reached 18 for the season on New Year’s Day, 19 at Brentford in February. His manager had assumed he had already reached 20.
“I’m less surprised than maybe some others, I thought it had already happened, but he was injured for a while; otherwise he would have done it in January or February,” he said. “But great, very good, and great to have him back.”
Sparta Prague brought Salah’s first start for Liverpool since the opening day of the year; he ended up playing 90 minutes after Bobby Clark had to go off, reducing his effort. “I told him not to defend anymore, I don’t think I’ve ever said that to a player before,” smiled Klopp.
But that interruption to his season is an illustration that, until then, Salah was setting such a pace as to suggest he could get 40 goals this season.
As it is, he looked enviably sharp ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Manchester United, who have been among his favourite victims, but his bit-part role in the last 10 weeks means that, on an individual basis, it is unlikely to go down as his best campaign.
But the paradox in Salah is that, for a player often accused of selfishness, whose hunger for goals Klopp referenced, is also one of Liverpool’s finest creators.
Salah recorded a hat-trick of assists against Sparta: it could have been five but for a ridiculous miss by Darwin Nunez and a moment when Cody Gakpo strayed offside. It took him past Steve McManaman to 86 assists for Liverpool: of those to debut in the last six decades, when such statistics were first compiled, only Dalglish, Steven Gerrard and John Barnes have more; in that time, only Dalglish and Trent Alexander-Arnold have averaged fewer appearances per assist.
If Salah has been the great guarantee of goals, he has been a great provider of them, too. He is a major reason why the Klopp era has contained over 1,000 goals.
When he wreaks havoc, others can capitalise: indeed, he has made it easier for others to score in his slipstream. Sadio Mane has reached 20 goals in three campaigns without outscoring Salah, Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota one apiece. Now Nunez is up to 17, despite his propensity for missing open goals.
They have been golden years for Liverpool; goal-filled years, too. Salah is taking the momentousness out of milestones by chalking them up on an annual basis, he has made it seem normal.
But the fact that none of Liverpool’s other attacking greats has shown this level of potency for seven straight seasons shows it is really not normal. (© The Independent) (ko 3pm unless stated)
Man City v Newcastle ............................................................................. 5.30 Wolverhampton v Coventry ................................................................... 12.15 Tomorrow
Chelsea v Leicester ................................................................................. 12.45 Man Utd v Liverpool ................................................................................ 3.30
Burnley v Brentford ........................................................................................... Fulham v Tottenham Hotspur ................................................................ 5.30 Luton v Nottm Forest ....................................................................................... Tomorrow
West Ham v Aston Villa .......................................................................... 2.00 28 20 4 4 70 24 28 19 7 2 65 26 28 19 6 3 63 28 28 17 4 7 59 41 27 16 5 6 59 39 28 15 2 11 39 39 28 12 7 9 45 49 28 11 9 8 50 44 28 12 5 11 42 44 28 12 4 12 59 48 27 11 6 10 47 45 28 10 5 13 40 44 28 9 8 11 41 52 28 7 8 13 33 48 28 7 5 16 40 52 28 8 7 13 29 39 28 6 6 16 34 50 28 5 6 17 41 59 28 3 5 20 27 62
28 3 5 20 24 74
PWDLFABirmingham v Watford ..................................................................................... Ipswich v Sheff Wed ......................................................................................... Middlesbrough v Blackburn ............................................................................ Plymouth v Preston North End ...................................................................... Rotherham v Huddersfield .............................................................................. Stoke v Norwich ................................................................................................ Sunderland v QPR ............................................................................................. Swansea v Cardiff .................................................................................... 12.30 West Brom v Bristol City ................................................................................. Tomorrow
Leeds v Millwall ................................................................................................. 37 26 4 7 74 33 37 24 7 6 68 28 37 23 9 5 74 49 36 22 7 7 73 47 37 18 9 10 57 36 37 17 7 13 66 54 37 16 10 11 53 46 37 15 12 10 59 43 37 16 5 16 53 52 36 15 8 13 48 54 37 16 5 16 43 49 37 14 5 18 48 45 37 13 8 16 42 43 37 11 12 14 52 51 37 11 10 16 46 58 37 11 10 16 36 48 37 10 11 16 54 61 37 11 8 18 51 64 37 11 8 18 35 50 37 10 9 18 36 50 37 10 9 18 42 58 37 8 14 15 42 61 37 11 5 21 30 55
37 3 10 24 30 77
PWDLFABarnsley v Cheltenham .................................................................................... Derby v Bolton ................................................................................................... Exeter v Burton Albion ..................................................................................... Fleetwood Town v Charlton ............................................................................ Lincoln City v Bristol Rovers ........................................................................... Peterborough v Portsmouth ............................................................................ Port Vale v Oxford Utd ..................................................................................... Reading v Cambridge Utd ............................................................................... Shrewsbury v Carlisle ....................................................................................... Stevenage v Leyton Orient .............................................................................. Wigan v Blackpool ............................................................................................ Wycombe v Northampton ..............................................................................
AFC Wimbledon v Newport County ............................................................. Accrington Stanley v Notts County ............................................................... Barrow v Harrogate Town ............................................................................... Bradford v Mansfield ........................................................................................ Colchester v Walsall ......................................................................................... Forest Green v Sutton Utd .............................................................................. Gillingham v Grimsby ....................................................................................... Milton Keynes Dons v Crewe ......................................................................... Swindon v Doncaster ....................................................................................... Wrexham v Tranmere ....................................................................................... Tomorrow
Salford City v Morecambe ...................................................................... 2.00
Celtic v St Johnstone ........................................................................................ Hibernian v Livingston ..................................................................................... Kilmarnock v St Mirren .................................................................................... Motherwell v Aberdeen ................................................................................... Ross County v Hearts ....................................................................................... Tomorrow
Dundee v Rangers ................................................................................... 12.00 29 23 1 5 64 16 29 21 5 3 68 22 29 17 4 8 38 28 29 12 6 11 34 32 29 10 11 8 34 31 29 9 9 11 40 50 29 8 11 10 38 45 29 7 11 11 41 46 29 6 10 13 20 38 29 6 9 14 32 48 29 5 9 15 26 50
29 3 8 18 20 49
PAirdrieonians v Arbroath .................................................................................. Inverness CT v Ayr ............................................................................................ Partick v Morton ................................................................................................ Queen’s Park v Raith ........................................................................................ 28 17 7 4 55 17 28 17 6 5 49 36 28 10 10 8 53 48 27 10 7 10 34 31 27 10 6 11 28 30 28 8 8 12 41 47 28 8 8 12 30 38 27 9 5 13 38 50 28 7 10 11 32 32
27 6 5 16 28 59
PWWDDLLFFAAEdinburgh City v Alloa ..................................................................................... Hamilton v Stirling ............................................................................................ Kelty Hearts v Cove Rangers .......................................................................... Montrose v Annan Athletic ............................................................................. Queen of South v Falkirk ........................................................................ 5.30
Bonnyrigg Rose v Clyde ................................................................................... Forfar v Stenhousemuir .................................................................................... Peterhead v East Fife ....................................................................................... Spartans v Dumbarton ..................................................................................... Stranraer v Elgin ................................................................................................
Sligo Rovers v Drogheda Utd (Showgrounds, 7.45) TEAM NEWS:
Sligo’s new striker Rein Smit has not been cleared to feature, the home side are without John Mahon. Adam Foley misses out for Drogheda.
Sligo’s defence have conceded three goals in five games to date which will be a challenge for Drogheda to break down. However, Sligo have yet to score in three games at home. Eoghan O’Shea
Home 3/4; Away 16/5; Draw Home win
TALKING POINT: REF: ODDS: VERDICT: For full coverage of all last night’s League of Ireland games see www.independent.ie/sport
12/5
152042 (14) (D) (John Patrick Ryan & Thomas James & Eoin Banville) J P Ryan 9-11-5 /1-131 (27) (D) (Mrs S Ricci) W P Mullins 6-11-5 430213 (27) (H;D) (Pony Sopranos Syndicate) C Collins 8-11-1 131422 (7) (John Patrick Ryan) J P Ryan 5-11-1 F23P6P (34) (Laurence V Halley) V Halley 7-11-1 P1400F (12) (Martin Cooney) D Hogan 7-11-1 Flame Bearer 8 11 1, Paul Townend 11-10 Fav (W P Mullins), 6 ran. 4-5 Mister Policeman, 3 Lucid Dreams, 6 Thecompanysergeant, 8 Irish Blaze, 12 Senecia, 25 Mount Frisco.
1-2fav (11-9) Tracked leaders in 3rd, stumbled on landing at 1st, went 2nd from 5th, headway travelling well to lead entering straight, stayed on strongly under hands and heels run-in, easily, won at Punchestown 2m nov ch hvy in Feb beating Arctic Bresil (11-5) by 6l, 5 ran. 11-2 (11-3) Tracked leader in 2nd, not fluent 2nd, not fluent 4 out, ridden in 2nd before 2 out, soon no impression on winner, disputed 2nd inside final furlong, kept on in 2nd close home, 2nd of 5, 3 1/2l behind Ash Tree Meadow (11-8) at Navan 2m 4f chs G2 (1) hvy. 11-1 (11-12) Tracked leaders, 3rd halfway, 2nd and pushed along approaching last, challenging when fell last, in a race won by Horantzau D’airy (11-12) at Leopardstown 2m 1f beg chase sft, 10 ran. 9-1 (11-5) Led, not fluent 4th, pushed along 2 out, ridden and headed entering straight, dropped to 3rd before last, no extra, 3rd of 5, 10l behind Mister Policeman (11-9) at Punchestown 2m nov ch hvy in Feb. 66-1 (11-3) Prominent, dropped to last and ridden along before 4 out, weakened, trailing when pulled up before 2 out, in a race won by American Mike (11-3) at Navan 3m nov chs G2 (1) hvy in Feb, 5 ran.