Mohamed Salah has taken the Premier League by storm this season, scoring goals for fun and adding potency to an already thrilling Liverpool attack.
On Saturday, it was a chance for the Egyptian to make a point, as he came up against the club that never truly gave him a chance in England, as former club Chelsea were the visitors to Anfield. Salah didn’t disappoint, tormenting the champions’ back line and getting a goal in the 1-1 draw.
Here’s an analysis of Salah’s performance against his old side.
BASIC STATS
Goals – 1
Assists – 0
Shots – 7
Shots on target – 2
Pass accuracy – 76%
Key Passes – 2
Dribbles – 4
EFFECTIVENESS
In the first half, Chelsea’s defence largely stifled Salah, although he was still Liverpool’s biggest threat. But in the second half, with Liverpool stepping up the pressure, Salah became even more influential.
His pace and the intelligence of his runs gave the Chelsea back line problems, especially Gary Cahill, and ultimately he was in the right place at the right time to round off a Liverpool attack and put his side in front.
It was yet another impactful performance from a player who, along with fellow Chelsea reject Kevin de Bruyne, has been the best player in the Premier League this season.
Mohamed Salah made sure to remind Chelsea what they were missing.
KEY MOMENTS
41st min, SHOT: It was nearly a classic Salah moment. Not for the first time, he won his one-on-one battle with Chelsea captain Cahill, shaking off the defenders attentions to spin and get a shot off from inside the box, only to see it end up agonisingly wide of the post.
65th min, GOAL: This is what makes Salah so dangerous. It’s not just when he runs at defenders with the ball, it’s his running off it as well, getting into spaces that will put him in a position to have the most impact. Philippe Coutinho’s pass towards him was blocked by Tiemoue Bakayoko, but the Chelsea player failed to control the ball and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was able to poke it towards Salah. Throughout the move, the Egyptian never stopped running, so he was in the right place at the right time to slot it home.
91st min, SHOT: Salah nearly capped his night by getting the winner. A lovely passing move found him at the edge of the penalty area, and he went for a spectacular curler – and nearly pulled it off. Thibaut Courtois had to make a good save down to his left to keep Chelsea’s draw intact.
VERDICT: 8/10
Jurgen Klopp went all in on Salah with his selection this game, dropping both Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino to the bench. It was a strange decision for the team overall, but it did make one thing clear, if it wasn’t already: Mohamed Salah is untouchable. And the 25-year-old showed why, proving a thorn in Chelsea’s side throughout and scoring a goal that should’ve been the winner, if only Liverpool had been able to hold the champions off at the end.
