Salah highlights Liverpool importance by matching 35-year-old record
Robin Bairner
- 8 Dec 2021 03:45 CST
- 3 min read
Mohamed Salah’s Liverpool future may be in doubt, but there is no question that the Egypt international star is one of football’s elite performers at present.
His exploits at the start of the 2021/22 season had led to calls that he deserved the Ballon d’Or, such has been his explosive record in front of goal.
That continued on Tuesday as he helped Liverpool to a 2-1 victory against Milan at San Siro – despite Jurgen Klopp electing to play a heavily rotated team for the match.
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Fiyako Tomori had given Milan the edge when he fired home following a corner, but Salah soon levelled the match after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s shot had been saved. In the second half, Liverpool became the first Premier League club to complete a perfect group phase when Divock Origi headed home.
Salah’s strike was the 20th he has mustered this season, incredibly doing so in just 22 games and reaching a mark that many decent players would be happy with over a whole campaign.
For the former Chelsea and Fiorentina star, though, this has become routine. Indeed, it is the fifth time in succession that he has scored 20 goals for Liverpool in a single campaign.
No player has achieved that feat for the Anfield club since Ian Rush did so six times in a row between the 1981/82 campaign and 1986/87, after which he departed for a one-season stint at Juventus.
Can Salah surpass Rush?
Whether Salah can equal or even beat Rush’s record, which was set 35 years ago, depends very much on his future.
While Liverpool have successfully tied down a host of stars to long-term contracts, the 29-year-old, who also has 11 assists to his name this season, has thus far eluded them.
There is no immediate rush to tie down Salah, whose deal expires in 2023, but if he is not under contract by the time the summer transfer window rolls around, Liverpool’s executives will start to get edgy.
After all, the wide forward is seen as an ideal successor to Kylian Mbappe at Paris Saint-Germain, while there are other clubs who would love to have such a talented performer in their ranks.
Salah has proven time and again his worth to Liverpool, and equalling Rush’s long-standing mark only serves to confirm his quality and longevity.
