It has been a long, hard and often rough road for Liverpool’s number 11.
No one could have envisioned Mohamed Salah winning a PFA Fans’ Player of the Month award when he made his first appearance in the English Premier League back at Chelsea and not many people would have put their money on him hitting the ground running the way he did four months after his £37.8m move from AS Roma last summer.
He has certainly justified his price tag though. 22 appearances, 22 goals contributed so far (17 scored, 5 assisted). The Egyptian has even managed to score more goals than the Reds’ top scorer in the past two seasons – and we’re only at the beginning of December!
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His seamless transition from the Serie A to the Premier League has been nothing short of admirable. Having previously been touted as a flop at Chelsea, he’s certainly come back with a bang under Jurgen Klopp’s guidance.
Last season, Luciano Spalletti deployed Salah on the right-wing to devastating effect, as well as occasionally up front as a false nine, a position he’s familiar with thanks to Hector Cuper using him there in the Egyptian national team.
How has he made it so far in so little time?
Pace and composure
His lightning pace. Not many players have the ability to combine their pace and composure with a technical ability damaging enough to make defenders look ill at ease. The easiest example being his second goal against Stoke – pressuring Erik Pieters into losing the ball in the final third before taking on Lee Grant with a low drive to the goalkeeper’s left. Let’s not forget his goal against Arsenal too!
Drastic improvement in his finishing
Salah’s finishing came under lots of scrutiny during his time in Italy with both Fiorentina and Roma – that seems to have to have been forgotten completely now. The forward became the fastest Liverpool player to score 10 Premier League goals, and his conversion rate has drastically improved. He scored two goals from two shots against Stoke, and two goals from three shots against West Ham.
YouTube: LIVERPOOL FANS CELEBRATE SALAH 2ND GOAL VS STOKE AWAY!!!
Versatility
Salah can play practically anywhere in attack – and Klopp has used him in all positions across the attacking trio he employs. At home to NK Maribor, he played to the left of Roberto Firmino to accommodate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the right, and notched a goal before being withdrawn for Daniel Sturridge. Against West Ham, he was deployed alongside Firmino up front and managed another two goals. Finally, against Brighton and Hove Albion last week he featured in a deeper position behind lone striker Firmino in Klopp’s new formation. He didn’t score but made two key passes, one of which was the assist for Firmino’s second goal.
It’s clear to see that under Klopp, Salah is flourishing. He loves to pressure opponents when he doesn’t have the ball, which is exactly what’s required under the German’s “Gegenpressing” system. He makes excellent use of his position on the right as inside forward, with his left foot doing the damage for most opposition teams.
It’s been a great start for Salah, let’s hope it continues!
