Mohamed Salah could have five sub-par seasons in a row and there would still be tearful eyes when this living legend says his Anfield goodbyes.
The Egyptian’s status is secure: a Premier League icon, one of the very greatest to pull on the famous Liverpool shirt and (probably) the best African footballer of all time.
Yet if he were to leave this summer, many Reds fans would concede it might be the right time for all parties. After all, this season has been pockmarked with poor performances and a major fall-out with head coach Arne Slot that threatened to plunge the club into civil war.
At 33 years old, noting his form and with this the last summer Liverpool can sell for a fee – his deal runs out in June 2027 and the mega-rich Saudi Arabian clubs, plus others, have a long-term interest – some would see this as the right time to wave farewell.
Then, almost out of nowhere, he comes up with a vintage Salah performance in Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Galatasaray. When under-fire Slot needed him most – it was arguably the most important game of his tenure – his talisman duly obliged with his best day of the season.
A trademark curling, rasping effort from the corner of the box with his left foot, as well as a pivotal role in other goals. This showing was Salah rolling back the years and many fans would have left the stadium thinking: ‘Hang on, is he back?’
Mo Salah (pictured with fellow goalscorer Dominik Szoboszlai) had arguably his best game of the season against Galatasaray
Salah curls home his sublime goal to cap off a fine performance, one that will have left Reds fans wondering: ‘Is he back?’
Maybe this summer does not have to be the end of this nine-year love affair after all. Salah’s attacking influence ballooned against Galatasaray – he had 13 touches in the opposition box, compared to an average of 7.55 per game across the whole season, and hit six shots on target, up from 0.83 in his other matches.
This is a small sample size and the big caveat is that the trip to Brighton on Saturday will be a much tougher game. But by the same token, Galatasaray are no mugs and have beaten Liverpool (twice), Juventus, Bodo/Glimt and Ajax this season.
Salah was aided by the fact Slot tweaked his system. Instead of asking the Egyptian to hold the width on the right, he was playing more centrally at the top of a 4-2-2-2 system, almost as a second striker alongside fellow goalscorer Hugo Ekitike.
Florian Wirtz and Dominik Szoboszlai both played as No 10s, with full backs Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez given extra licence to bomb forward to provide width.
This meant Salah didn’t have to track back with the opponent’s full back, something that is not his strongest attribute.
And having him closer to the box means Liverpool can utilise his undoubted finishing prowess without him having to start wide and beat a man – an ability which has been on the wane this season – before he can attack the goal.
It worked a treat as Liverpool created chance after chance in a performance Slot dubbed as ‘close to perfection’.
Salah’s open play touches before the Galatasaray match show how much he has been hugging the touchline
But on Wednesday, Arne Slot tweaked his system – with Salah’s touches revealing his more central role, almost as a second striker
It was the most ‘Jurgen Klopp’ display of the Slot era. Heavy-metal football, relentless pressing off the ball and a team fuelling and then feeding off the noise inside Anfield.
The noise, or lack thereof, has been criticised in recent weeks but Slot – who was himself tenfold more animated than usual on the touchline – surely must see that the two things are linked: play like this and the crowd will back you; a loud Anfield lifts the players’ level.
It must be said that Slot has tried this 4-2-2-2 system before and it has not worked, at least in terms of results. Dare it be said, it was this shape that he turned to in December to solidify the team and who paid the price? Salah. The forward was benched and went public with his irritation, saying he had no relationship with the manager and the club had thrown him ‘under the bus’.
Only three months later, Salah is driving the bus as the main protagonist again as Liverpool book their place in the Champions League quarter-final. So what next?
‘Let’s not get too excited,’ was the message in the dressing room at full-time, as captain Virgil van Dijk said: ‘It is very hard (to replicate) but that’s the hardest thing in life, doing it each and every three or four days.
‘If you do that there’s a big chance you become successful. That’s what you strive for, that’s what we had last year, and that’s what we try to reach. But you need multiple factors to go your way and now don’t get carried away.’
But it certainly bodes well. Play like this and Liverpool will breeze into the top five of the Premier League. Then Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City await in the next rounds of the Champions League and FA Cup.
Play like they did in the away leg to Galatasaray, and they will be punished – but replicate this home performance and the sky is the limit for this team.
Virgil van Dijk has urged caution despite Liverpool’s commanding peformance
Salah was all smiles at Anfield – which has not always been the case this season
Salah’s mid-term future is also still unclear. Given his fallout with Slot, it would not be a surprise to see him depart this summer.
One source in Egypt this week suggested he had still not decided on that and added it would be hard to see Salah and Slot both still here next year.
But everything feels better with a win. Both the star man and head coach were smiling at full-time, as were the fans – none of which has been common in recent months.
Can this system tweak be the key to stopping the Salah slump and rescue their flailing season – or will it be another false dawn for this Jekyll and Hyde Liverpool team?
