As Mohamed Salah swept Liverpool’s sixth goal past David de Gea and whipped his shirt off in celebration, the man nicknamed ‘God’ by the Kop applauded the sight of history being made.
Breathtaking consistency
The Egyptian recently became the second Liverpool player (after Ian Rush) to score 20 goals or more in all competitions in six successive seasons, and he now sits seventh in the club’s all-time scoring list on 178. The only player above him to net at a faster rate is Gordon Hodgson, who last graced Anfield in 1935.
Salah is no flat-track bully: his favourite opponents are Manchester United, who have now suffered at his hands on 10 occasions, while Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham all feature in his top 10.
Salah hasn’t been at his blistering best for most of this season but he still boasts 22 goals and 11 assists in all competitions.
The skill set
Salah formed part of a renowned front three with Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino as Liverpool won the Champions League, the Club World Cup and the Premier League title.
Now Jurgen Klopp’s front line is evolving and new partnerships are developing with Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez, but Salah’s skills are such that he complements different kinds of forward.
The mindset and durability
One of Salah’s most priceless attributes is his availability. As he approaches the business end of his sixth season at Liverpool, he’s closing in on 300 appearances for the club. He hasn’t missed a Premier League game in 2022-23. In fact, he has only sat out 10 top-flight matches in total since he arrived from Roma in 2017.
Despite the rough treatment regularly dished out to him, he rarely loses his composure. Sunday was just the seventh time he has received a yellow card in 291 games for Liverpool. It was the fourth time he’s been booked for taking his shirt off after scoring.
Salah received a thunderous ovation from his team-mates when he returned to the home dressing room on Sunday where he was presented with a commemorative shirt with ‘129’ on it. He celebrated at home in Cheshire with a cup of camomile tea alongside his family before enjoying a well-earned Monday off.
The future
Salah sets himself individual targets. He admitted on Sunday that the prospect of becoming Liverpool’s top scorer of the Premier League era had been driving him on since he won the Golden Boot with 32 goals in 2017-18.
So what now? By the end of this season, he could sit fifth in the club’s all-time scoring list. He’s five behind Fowler (183) and eight adrift of Gerrard (186). That would leave just the iconic names of Billy Liddell (228), Hodgson (241), Roger Hunt (285) and Rush (346) ahead of him.
When the goals dried up earlier this season, some critics questioned the wisdom of making him the highest-paid player in the club’s history last summer with that new three-year contract worth around £350,000 per week. That debate has since been quietened. Salah was worth breaking the bank for.
