When it mattered, Liverpool’s biggest star delivered.
Mohamed Salah had been questioned beforehand like never before, his place in the starting XI at the Ethiad in doubt in the minds of even his most ardent fans after a tough patch by his standards. Yet when the call came at the break, as the Reds found themselves outplayed and outmanoeuvred by Manchester City, it was the Egyptian King who stood tall, and responded with a vital assist.
Salah’s movement in that second half, from outside to in, caused huge problems for the City defence, and his awareness and team ethic in creating chances for others gave his side a priceless point. It was massive, because it kept Liverpool’s title hopes alive. A four-point deficit with only seven points remaining would surely be too much against a City side who have a habit of winning on the run-in.
One point though, is a different story. Pep Guardiola’s side - incredibly - haven’t gone more than two games in the WHOLE OF 2022 with dropping points of some sort… nine points squandered in their last nine games in fact. So it is no given they will win all their remaining matches.
And for that hope alone, Salah has answered his critics. The question now is: Can he recapture his form in front of goal to inspire a winning run of Liverpool’s own and to steal the title from City’s grasp?
He has lost confidence in front of goal, no doubt. It is five Reds games now since he scored, eight without a goal in open play. Before that, he hadn’t gone more than three games without a Liverpool goal all season. And that only once. His vision and confident pass for Sadio Mane’s goal showed the confidence is returning though, and a similarly clever pass put Diogo Jota in for a chance to win the game which the Portuguese forward should have done better with.
Have Your Say! Is Mo Salah worth keeping at all costs for Liverpool? Join the debate here.
Even without goals of his own, Salah is making a massive contribution still. He has 11 Premier League assists now, behind only Trent Alexander-Arnold at the club, and behind him and only Thomas Muller, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi in the rest of Europe. He has 39 goal contributions in 39 matches this season, which is why Liverpool should seriously consider giving him the new contract NOW that they have been negotiating for months.
The smart money suggests a deal will be agreed eventually. Salah is simply too valuable to allow to leave, either in the summer or the following summer on - God forbid - a free transfer. The player himself said this is not the time to talk about it. But it is the PERFECT time, because the lift it would give to Liverpool’s quadruple hopes, and to Salah himself as he enters the business end of the campaign, would be immeasurable.
Those were clearly the sentiments that prompted Gary Neville to suggest Salah - and his sidekick Mane - delivered when it really mattered against City. For Neville, that big-game attitude, that world-class mentality, is priceless: “Salah and Mane weren’t in the game, but then suddenly in the second half they turned up - and you saw they were still operating at the highest level.
“They’ve built up too much trust, they’ve got too many credits in the bank to be taken off at half-time or to be left out, because they deliver and they delivered (against the best team in the world). If you ever wondered if those two should start or if Diaz or Firmino should come in, you saw with Salah and Mane why they are still operating at the highest level in world football.”
So much for a player supposedly underperforming. Salah matches anyone in Europe for most goal contributions in 2021-22, and that is some going given how relatively easy it is to post those numbers in France’s Ligue 1, or even in LaLiga these days. What Liverpool need now, is for him to deliver with the same consistency over the final seven Premier League games, and in the two cup competitions which could yet deliver an historic quadruple.
If it is the difference between winning four trophies this season, or just one, then giving him a new contract now is a no-brainer. The money it would earn the club would make any wage rise pale into insignificance. The signs were there against City that the Salah appetite is still there, and the confidence and ruthless instinct is still lurking. Get that back for the run-in, and Liverpool could rewrite football history.
