Salah’s gentle touch packs a punch

IT WAS a day that had gone like most days have gone during the past two months: Mohamed Salah taking shots but failing to find the target. The Egyptian has been chasing history since February 9 — the chance to be the quickest Liverpool striker to reach 50 league goals — and, watching him closely, you can see it is preying on his mind. A player who always had an extra second last season now seems to be rushing his lines. You saw it at Everton at the beginning of March, then again at Fulham two weeks ago. The 26-year-old has seemed blinkered when racing towards goal, taking on shots that he would not normally take and overlooking better-placed team-mates. For much of the second half against Tottenham yesterday, tension seemed to grip Salah. When put through by Roberto Firmino in the 59th minute, Anfield implored him to usher in Sadio Mane, but he hesitated and Toby Alderweireld stretched out a leg to thwart him. Moments later, Liverpool advanced again and Salah chanced his arm from 20 yards. His shot flew into the Kop and Mane, standing in close vicinity, looked to the heavens. Soon after, Tottenham equalised and you wondered whether Salah would be sacrificed. But Jurgen Klopp kept faith and, in the final moments, there he was in the six-yard box. His header was gentle — and only the most generous individual would attempt to give him the goal that eventually came via Tottenham blunders — but the contribution to what may yet be a colossal 2-1 win was impossible to overlook. When the pandemonium subsided, Klopp took him off and Anfield rose, bellowing their song about him being the ‘Egyptian king’. If this victory could have huge ramifications for the team, the moment to which Salah was central could be similarly positive for him. ‘I haven’t scored for a few games and there are players on the same number of goals as me and they say they are having the best seasons of their lives,’ Salah told former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher in a TV interview. ‘I don’t care if I don’t get the goal, three points is the most important thing. If they don’t give it to me I don’t care, we have won. I’m happy. You keep in the race, you just have to win, find a way to win. ‘Southampton are fighting for their lives, they want the points too, so we have to win each game. ‘If you look at the crowd, it was crazy. They just want to win the Premier League and we will do everything to make it happen.’