Salah’s goal was decisive as Liverpool beat Brentford at Anfield, keeping their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League alive.
But as with many of Salah’s goals, there is additional context and extra records attached. And here is further proof, if necessary, that we are dealing with one of Liverpool legends, whose name deserves to be mentioned alongside Gerrard, Rush or any of the Reds legends. other.
Rewrite the record book
First, consider Salah’s latest personal achievements. First of all, his goal against Brentford helped him equal Gerrard’s record of 186 goals for Liverpool in all competitions, ranking fifth in the list of all-time leading scorers in Liverpool history. .
In front of him now only Liddell (228), Gordon Hodgson (241), Hunt (285) and Rush (346), and of them only Hodgson has a better goal-per-game ratio. Salah’s 186 goals have come in just 302 games.
He has scored 30 goals in all competitions this season, his fourth in six seasons with Liverpool, and the third in a row. Only three other players – Hunt, Rush and Fowler – have scored 30+ goals in three consecutive seasons for the club. No one has done this since the mid-1990s.
Salah has also hit 100 goals at Anfield, just the eighth player in Liverpool history to do so, and he became the first to score in nine consecutive home games, surpassing the record. Suarez’s eight games were drawn in the 2013-14 season.
Either way, those are remarkable achievements, and it’s a very special company that this particular player holds.
Always motivated and eager to break records
Last summer, there were some silly suggestions that the new three-year deal Salah signed with Liverpool, worth around £300,000 ($379,000) a week, could affect the 30-year-old’s motivation. . Something like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s theory.
But with Salah, that didn’t happen. His Liverpool side have dropped in form this season, and Salah has struggled at times in an underperforming squad, but he has continued to work, score and assist. Relax? He rarely thinks about it.
“I said earlier that I feel at home here, I’m very happy,” he told Sky Sports on Saturday. “Breaking the record means something to me. That’s what makes me proud.
“I work very hard and everyone knows it, everyone sees it. I simply encourage myself to break records, score goals and win for the team.”
Always scoring and almost immune to injury
Perhaps equally impressive is Salah’s incredible health record. Since joining Liverpool from Roma in 2018, Liverpool have played 225 Premier League games and Salah has played in 215.
Of the 10 he missed, one was due to Covid-19, one after a lousy tackle from Leicester’s Hamza Choudhury and he was an unused substitute in three games, all in a winning season. Red Brigade championship in the 2019-20 season.
He has never played less than 48 games in a season for Liverpool in all competitions, which is proof of his outstanding professionalism, mentality and physical condition. That is part, as well as his scoring excellence, that makes him such an important asset to Klopp and Liverpool.
‘Salah is a machine’
No wonder Klopp wanted to hail his star after Saturday’s game. “He’s a machine,” the Liverpool manager told BBC Sport , and in his post-match press conference he further elaborated on Salah’s record and success.
“The number of goals he creates, we all know that after he retires, Salah will be considered one of the greatest legends of all time,” he told reporters. “Now Salah is still in his career and maybe some people don’t appreciate him enough, but we do.
“He deserves to be praised and he will be praised by many more after he retires, that’s for sure, because in a club with the greatest legends of all time, being being the first to score in nine consecutive home games is extremely special.
“Scoring 30 goals this season is also very special and Salah has set up many more as well – he is regularly involved in our goals, not just with an assist or a shot, a lot of times but the second or third pass is just as important. It’s great.”
Prizes
It must be emphasized, of course, that this season will most likely end in disappointment, both for Salah and for Liverpool.
No finals to look forward to, no cups to be won. The tension of the title race is gone at Anfield, and while they still have a small chance of finishing in the top four against Newcastle or Manchester United, it’s quite difficult.
Salah will not win his fourth Premier League Golden Boot at the end of the season – arguably Erling Haaland has pocketed – nor will he be named PFA Player of the Year for a third time. In fact, he may not even have been selected to the Team of the Season.
However, it should also be emphasized that among Premier League players, only Haaland has scored more goals in all competitions this season. Salah has two more goals than Harry Kane, another player who seems to be breaking new records weekly, and he has one more than Marcus Rashford, who is having the best season of his career. He has more than double that of Bukayo Saka, who is expected to replace him on the best right wing of the tournament.
Not bad in a team that hasn’t been at their best all season. If Salah can do it in a struggling team, what else will he do if Liverpool improve their form next season?
Salah’s assists are also very respectable
The most impressive thing about what Salah does at Liverpool is not only the goal, but also the way he creates scoring opportunities and assists for teammates to score.
Salah has never scored less than 23 goals in a season for Liverpool, but in five of his six campaigns he has also racked up ten or more assists. This season, he has assisted more than Kane, Rashford, Gabriel Martinelli or Son Heung-min, and equals Haaland or Martin Odegaard.
According to lfchistory.net , Salah is ninth on Liverpool’s all-time assists list, ahead of legends like Terry McDermott, Ray Kennedy, Peter Beardsley and Jan Molby. He will soon catch up and overtake Roberto Firmino and Kevin Keegan..
Heritage
There is no doubt that Salah will be viewed as one of Liverpool’s greatest legends of all time, and if he leaves the club at the end of his current contract in 2025, he will likely surpass Liddell and came close to Hodgson to become the third highest scorer in Liverpool history. Maybe he will threaten legends like Rush and Steve McManaman in the top 5 of the all-time assists chart.
And it can be hoped that he will help Liverpool touch the trophy again. This has not been a top season at Anfield, but listening to Klopp speak recently is to hear from someone who believes a solution will be found, both in the transfer market and on the training ground. They may not be as high as they were last season, when they could and probably should have won it all, but they’ll be back in the game, that’s for sure. Especially with Salah leading their attack.
When Salah ended his career – far from happening, of course – there was no doubt about Salah’s Liverpool legacy. If there is a version of Mount Rushmore at Anfield, Salah’s face will appear, along with the likes of Dalglish, Gerrard and Rush.
