It's testament to the levels Mohamed Salah has routinely reached at Liverpool that some would suggest his 22 goals across the calendar year so far does not represent a vintage 12 months.
Perhaps the Egypt star - who is vying for his third successive triumph in this particular category - is being viewed unfairly merely against himself over the past 18 months when many have championed him as the planet's finest footballer at one time or another.
An exhausting Africa Cup of Nations campaign, both mentally and physically, when he played a whopping 750 minutes in total between January 11 and February 3 as the Pharaohs won every knockout game on penalties before losing to Senegal in the final on spot-kicks, no doubt contributed in a slight dip at the turn of 2022.
