Two strikers with big points to prove
TO REDEMPTION KANE AND SALAH SEEK ROAD
Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah have the perfect stage to end their unexpected slumps when the superstar strikers go head-to-head at Wembley tomorrow.
Just four months ago, Tottenham striker Kane and Liverpool forward Salah were being hailed as Europe’s most feared marksmen after the pair tore through Premier League defences on a weekly basis.
Yet they go into this weekend’s clash between Tottenham and Liverpool with concerns about their ability to maintain that breathtaking form in the midst of a post-World Cup malaise.
Kane and Salah slugged it out for the Premier League’s Golden Boot prize right up to the last game of the season.
The Egypt international, with 32 goals, pipped his England rival to the coveted prize despite Kane’s first 30-league-goal season.
Salah bagged an incredible 44 goals in all competitions in his debut year with Liverpool, earning him the Professional Footballers’ Association and Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year awards.
But his season came to a bitter conclusion in the Champions League final when he suffered a shoulder injury after a challenge from Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos.
Leaving the pitch in tears, Salah’s departure triggered Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat and ultimately cast a cloud over his World Cup, where he missed the first match and was unable to stop Egypt crashing out at the group stage.
The 26-year-old returned to Merseyside to kick off the new campaign with a goal in the demolition of West Ham.
But while Salah has scored twice in four games so far for high-flying Liverpool, he has not been the same player that tormented opponents last term.
Kane was not quite at his best in Russia despite winning the Golden Boot and England reaching the semifinals and the hangover has continued.
The 25-year-old has just scored two goals in six games for club and country this season.
Salah’s dip has not stopped Liverpool climbing to the top of the Premier League after four successive wins, while Tottenham are just three points behind.
Even so, it would be a comforting sight for Reds manager Jurgen Klopp and Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino if their star men were back on song. –