High time Mo Salah gets counted among the most elite forwards in the world | Football News

A fan waved a banner during Liverpool’s 2-0 canter over Aston Villa last month: “He fires a bow. Now give Mo his dough.” He was referring to Mohammed Salah’s trademark bow-and-arrow goal celebration as well as the contract dance with his employers. There are rumours that the club and its talisman have finally agreed to a new contract, but the period of uncertainty dragged on interminably. Salah would publicly admit that he was “more out than in,” and that “it could be his last game at Etihad.” The manager Arne Slot disarmed the tension, saying, “maybe, he knows about the 115 charges.”
None of the rumours or the supposed stand-off has diminished Salah’s form this season. Rather, refreshingly, he has been more influential for his club than ever before. Just one-third of the season past, he has already racked up numbers that dazzle. In 21 games, he has amassed 15 goals and hatched 12 asss, fuelling Liverpool to the top of the league and the Champions League title.
The narrative was not supposed to unfold this way. After a late-slump last season, a public bust-up with former manager Jurge Klopp, a new manager taking over, age climbing and the infinite riches of Saudi dialling him, it seemed that curtains were being fastened on arguably Liverpool’s most celebrated player of this century. But he stayed back, whether that was on his wish or the manager’s insence or the incapacity to strike a lucrative deal with a Saudi club, Salah stayed. And he could lead Liverpool to just their second league triumph this century.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah runs celebrating after scoring his side’s second goal from the penalty spot during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)
Some call it Salah’s second wind. It is, and yet, it is not. Numerically he never endured a slump or wild fluctuations of form. Since 2017, when Liverpool acquired him, he has not endured a poor season. In every season, he has stroked 20-plus goals in all competitions. Barring the 2020-21 season, he has assed 10 or more goals every season.
Yet, this season has been a resurgence. He has rediscovered his joy in being out there in the red shirt, skinning defenders, leaving them in a wake like the smoky contrails of a fighter jet, weaving his left foot like a paint-brush, coaxing the football to traverse wicked bends. Watching him has been the most joyous experience in a league that is getting stiflingly physical and tactical this season. It could be warm words of his manager, or the affection of the crowd, or his own steely will to not let age diminish his prowess.
It’s evident that the 32-year-old is not as quick as he once was. Often, wingers that lose pace repurpose to a more central role. Thus, they could conceal their loss of pace but continue to remain a central figure. But Salah has been getting progressively wider this season. He would hold the width and then cut into the edge, from where he would shoot the ball goal-wards or curl it to the back-post. He makes up for the yards of explosive pace he has lost with his trickery and composure in one-on-one situations, his vision to design the perfect pass and the precision to find the most suitable man. He barely loses the ball, carries it through a maze of legs, and is seldom out-wrestled, though he is not a physically imposing presence. He has mastered the difficult chore of using his body to keep the defender pressing him away from the ball. The sweetest first touch in the league had made him the receiving outlet for long diagonal balls from the deep, often hoofed Virgil van Dijk.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Southampton and Liverpool in Southampton, England, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Sean Ryan)
He keeps on adjusting to new challenges and set-ups. The old forward-line has long gone. He doesn’t get service from the left as Sadio Mane used to; Darwin Nunez is unlike the hardworking Roberto Firmino. The midfield is different, more dynamic but less creative. But Salah has no worries.
These are little things that he has polished in his pursuit of perfection. Klopp once admitted: “Every year, something new is in his toolbox. A subtle change that really makes you appreciate the genius that he is. He is a delight for any coach to have.” Almost toxically obsessed about his game, he watches his missed chances from open play, he studies the movements of the defenders that could mark him. “Every single detail, every quirk, every pattern, he would pore over them with a scient’s eye,” Klopp would once say.
A streak of scientific artry guides his game, not anarchy of thought. It perhaps explains his staggering consency that makes him one of the grandest players in the Premier League era. He could own his place as one of the greatest goal-scorers the country has seen. He is eighth on the l (170). But there is little fun for him without the asss. He is eleventh on the charts, above Thierry Henry. The numbers he shares with the French legend are eerily identical. In 370 games in all competitions, both have netted 226 goals. Salah has assed eight more goals.
But the numbers are not the measure of either. Both bring an ineffable beauty into the game. And it is high time Salah is counted among the most elite forwards in the world.