The keys to Salah’s success
There are wonderful technical skills to admire about Salah. Clever tactical approaches which have repeatedly put him in dangerous positions, too. Just look at this chart showing how he is consistently top in the Premier League for touches in the opposition box.
But perhaps the most important factor in his success has been his consistency and fitness levels which have allowed him to deliver year after year for Liverpool. And it’s all added up to an incredible career.
When Salah pulled off his shirt after scoring at Southampton, his physique was a reminder of the commitment and attention to detail he has brought to all aspects of his game to ensure he stays at the top.
“What has impressed me most about Salah this season? The fact he looks like the original Mo Salah, when he first came to Liverpool,” Carragher told Sky Sports ahead of that win on the south coast.
“Towards the back end of last season, he’d been involved in AFCON and come back injured and it wasn’t the same Mo Salah. That probably hurt Liverpool in terms of going a bit further in the title race. But when he is sharp and firing he is as good as anybody in the Premier League and he has shown that over the last six or seven years for Liverpool.”
Salah has scored over 18 league goals in each of his seven seasons at Liverpool. With 10 already this term, he’s well on the way to making that eight in a row.
Could he pip the phenomenon Erling Haaland and snatch his fourth golden boot to go level with record-holder Thierry Henry? A further 10 goals in the remaining 26 matches would see him match the Frenchman on five 20-goal Premier League seasons.
For all his adoration on Merseyside, when you look at those numbers, has Salah’s return been under-appreciated away from Anfield?
“I think it is under-appreciated,” said Carragher. “That question goes to the Ballon d’Or. He very rarely seems to be in the running for that and when you look at his seasons, his consistency is off the scale.
“Sometimes with trophies like that there’s always one player who has had an unbelievable season and it has to go to them. But Mo is just there, season after season.
“It reminds me a little bit of Raul at Real Madrid. He never won the Ballon d’Or but for a five or six year period he was outstanding – but maybe in each individual season there was someone else who scored a few more goals. Maybe that’s the problem Mo has had.
“He had that one unbelievable season when he first came [when he scored 32 in 36 Premier League games] and maybe that should have been the season he got it. But that was the Messi-Ronaldo era.”
Source : Sky Sports
