For many, Mohamed Salah is the best striker in the Premier League and he is on course to win a third Golden Boot.
He has 22 Premier League goals and 30 in total this season none of his rivals can match his goalscoring feats. Salah has also netted a stunning 155 goals since arriving at Liverpool from Roma for a bargain £34million in 2017, which is an average of over 30 a season, with six games of this potentially-historic campaign to go.
Yet despite these incredible goalscoring statistics, Salah has made a firm admission over his role at Liverpool. When he received his second Football Writers’ Player of the Year award on Thursday night at the Landmark Hotel in central London, he insisted he was not a striker - seeing himself as a winger, which makes his scoring feats all the more remarkable.
“I’m not a striker,” he said . “I’m not a striker because I play as a winger. I don’t play No 9, I play on the wing. It’s completely different when you play as a winger. People count me as a striker, but they shouldn’t because I don’t play as a striker. In our last game, [Diogo] Jota was our striker and we have [Sadio] Mane as a No 9. I’m never been a No 9. I’m just focused in every game to try and help the team win games and that’s the most important thing. Once the team wins, I’m happy.”
Salah, 29, also has most assists in the Premier League with 13 and he is fuelling Liverpool’s unprecedented quadruple bid. Standing in their way in the Premier League are champions Manchester City and Pep Guardiola’s side have a one-point lead in the title race. Liverpool can move two points ahead of the Blues if they beat Tottenham at Anfield on Saturday night before they face Newcastle at the Etihad on Sunday and Salah says the Reds will give their all to pip them.
“I think City are a very tough team, one of the best in the world,” he said. “In the last 10 years, I think they have won the Premier League five times. They’re always trying to win the Premier League and they have a chance to do it. There are four games left and they are ahead of us. We just need to give it a try and see what happens.”
Have Your Say! Will Mo Salah lead Liverpool to the quadruple? Join the debate here.
Salah wants revenge over Real Madrid because Liverpool lost to them in the 2018 Final when Sergio Ramos did a judo throw on him to injure his shoulder. “I was hoping for this game to get revenge,” he said. “The last time we lost and I got injured. They have more experience in this tournament than any other team, they know how to win this tournament. They beat City, they beat PSG, they beat Chelsea, they have very good players and a very good coach. I think also our team, we are one of the best teams in Europe and the world. We just need to be humble and just try and win.”
Klopp gave Salah permission to fly down to London to receive his second FWA Player of the Year award from Liverpool legend Ian Rush and the Egyptian says he and the Reds boss are close. He says he and all the players were delighted when Klopp agreed to extend his contract at Anfield until 2026.
“Of course, we have a good relationship since I came here,” he said. “We’ve worked together for five years and we’ve achieved a lot of things for the club. Of course, it’s great to see him extend his contract with the club. It’s good for everyone, for the club and the players, and let’s see what happens next.”
