It was all good just mere months ago.
Liverpool fans were absolutely gasping for their Egyptian pharaoh Mohamed Salah to be the frontrunner to displace Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the Ballon d’Or running, delighted with the return the former Chelsea man had brought them since being purchased for £34million.
A summer of being unable to train ahead of the new season and the weight of the expectant nation of Egypt on his broken shoulders has been found out as the new campaign has begun.
Liverpool’s perfect start to the season - maximum points in the Premier League and a stunning win over Ligue 1 title-holders Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League this week - has decimated the odds for Jurgen Klopp’s scintillating side to collect silverware.
As The Sportsman has previously analysed, Salah produced his worst game thus far when the Reds welcome Les Parisiens to Anfield this week.
The forward had a woeful two shots in the game with his scruffy goal correctly disallowed after a vicious tackle on goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, but giving Salah the brief time to celebrate in front of the Kop. Furthermore, he completed just one successful dribble during the 85 minutes he was on the pitch and had a pass success rate of a woeful 70.6%.
In the previous season, the stars were firmly in eyes for the Anfield devotee, but his being spoken of in the same breath as Messi raised eyebrows rhapsodically and whilst his goalscoring tally - the best ever seen in the an English 38-game season - was undeniably impressive, it was ultimately premature to think of the 26-year-old in the same ilk as the majestic Argentine, despite monumental Red adoration and universal critical praise.
Subsequently, disregard comparisons to Messi; there’s another player Salah is beginning to be in danger of becoming reminiscent of.
Consequently, disregard comparisons to Messi; there’s another player Salah is beginning to be in danger of becoming reminiscent of.
In 2013 Swansea City brought the forward Michu to the Liberty Stadium from Raya Vallecano and and stunned the English top tier, making him a favourite of not just the regular Swans fan but also the astute fantasy football player, eventually producing an astonishing return of 22 goals in 43 appearances. Even more incredible when one takes into account that this was a player that was bought for a measly £2million. The chants were soon ringing out: ‘How many Michus is the <insert astronomically-priced player> worth?’
However, the Spaniard soon suffered second season syndrome and contributed a paltry six goals in a decreased 24 appearances; that’s just one strike every 308 minutes, or one for the tally every five hours.
He was soon shipped off to Napoli where he failed to hit the back of the net and a year ago retired at the age of just 31.
For Salah this stark warning that he can’t rest on his laurels generated by the successes of his stellar first season. So far he’s scored two in six appearances - a total of 513 minutes - but is far from producing the delicious majesty he displayed on a weekly basis in 2017/18. The goal rate is precariously balanced at around a goal per 256 minutes, or one per four hours. Last year it was one ever 93 minutes.
This season, Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge has also impressed and should Salah continue this poor run of form, perhaps more fans will be clamouring for the injury-prone Englishman to be granted more of a regular starting berth in his stead.
