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Few players have graced the Anfield pitch with such class and poise as Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian has already been well written in Liverpool folklore and he shows no signs of stopping.
Before his arrival, many viewed Salah as a failure to his form at Chelsea, but the matter of 97 goals in 156 appearances in the Reds jersey puts an end to those suggestions. Salah is a legend in the Premier League and Liverpool, without a doubt. Despite its obvious quality and end product, there still seems to be a lingering question mark. For the past two seasons, it has been suggested that Salah is a “selfish” player, and it is something that came up again this week.
Liverpool’s demolition of Arsenal saw nearly every player in a Reds jersey in the man of the match performance, including Salah despite not being on the score sheet. He played a vital role in Sadio Mané’s first goal, and also helped deliver Anfield’s first goal to Diogo Jota.
However, Gary Neville did not hesitate to label Salah as ‘selfish’ for intercepting a ball heading towards the new Jota. It is not the first time that the former Manchester United player has criticized Salah for being too interested in finding the back of the net. Burnley, outside of last season, saw a disagreement between him and Mané, after Salah opted to go for goal rather than pass his teammate. It then led to more claims that Salah is a selfish gamer, but those who label him as such are missing the point.
Take for example the victory over Arsenal. In the case of intercepting the ball from Jota, was Salah in a better position than his partner? Probably not. Should I have let Jota get the ball and shoot? More than likely. But there is a big difference between ‘selfishness’ and pure forward instinct. Let’s not forget, just moments before, Salah played a delicious direct pass to his new teammate to score, who then narrowly missed the target.
Salah’s debut season saw him rack up 44 goals in all competitions, and it’s a campaign that has propelled the 28-year-old to meet the same standards year after year. He is a relentless goal scoring machine that embodies everything Jürgen Klopp wants from his players. If there is a record to break, you can guarantee that Salah will do what he can to achieve it. But when it comes to doing what’s best for the team, he often makes the right decision.
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In just over three seasons at Liverpool, Salah has contributed 41 assists to his teammates, including 28 in the Premier League. No other Reds player has accomplished more in that time. More goals and more assists than anyone at Anfield, but there still seems to be this unfair criticism floating over his head.
Can Salah be guilty of choosing to shoot instead of making a pass to a teammate who is in a better position? Yes, but name any hungry, prolific striker who hasn’t done it before. It’s what makes forwards successful and ultimately they win team trophies. Come back to Salah’s impressive goal against Chelsea in April 2019. There are probably a handful of players in better positions, but still seek glory and score one of the biggest goals in recent Anfield history. That’s what scorers do.
It is not only in front of the goal that Salah has proven his usefulness. Time and again he has stepped back to help his teammates defend opposition attacks, including a pivotal moment against Arsenal on Monday night. Answer this, would a ‘selfish’ player who only cares about scoring goals do that? You can draw your own conclusions.
Labeling Salah ‘selfish’ is an unfair criticism given the hard work he does to help the cause. Every once in a while your eyes may light up and seek glory, but that doesn’t make you greedy or selfish. It’s just a natural reaction to him keeping up with his scoring talent, which has served Liverpool so well in recent seasons.
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