Given all that he has achieved over the course of five full seasons at Liverpool, it would take a brave soul to start asking questions about Mohamed Salah and his contribution to the collective cause. Nobody, though, even the very best in the business, is immune to the odd bout of criticism.
The Egyptian superstar in Merseyside knows that as well as anybody, with end product demanded from those performing at an elite level – with that especially true of those operating in the final third of the field.
It is their contribution that can be the difference between one point and three, success and failure, gold medals or silver ones. Salah has collected plenty of mementoes down the years, with Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup crowns coming his way while in England, along with a few Golden Boots.
Six successive opening days goals for @MoSalah ? pic.twitter.com/bl37zBU1V6
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 10, 2022
Superstar
His exploits have made him a superstar, with a global standing now enjoyed that places him in a talent bracket alongside the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski. Consistency and longevity often separate the good from the great, with Salah in the business of trying to prove that he deserves to live forever in the latter of those two categories.
His performances to date have been nothing short of remarkable, with records often sent tumbling around him. From Anfield to Adelaide, a global audience of millions is fully aware of who he is and what he is capable of. It is that standing which means favour is never far away when pre-match predictions and punts are laid out in group chats, social media platforms and accas from bet365 as attention turns to in-play action, live streaming and a hunt for goals.
Salah has proved more adept than most in that department down the years, with his unerring ability to hit the net ensuring that he is never far away from the top of sports betting markets that come with credits and bonuses for those putting years of hard-earned knowledge to the test.
The only problem with setting such high standards is that any supposed dip is going to be dissected in minute detail. In the present, Salah has not been firing on as many cylinders as a loyal legion of followers is accustomed to seeing.
Mohamed Salah signs a new contract with Liverpool until 2025 ? pic.twitter.com/BsSOvigciu
— GOAL (@goal) July 1, 2022
Contract
Should that be a source of concern? Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has swatted away questions without batting an eyelid.
He said of Salah, who spent much of the summer at the centre of a long-running contract renewal saga, “Everyone talked about it and we are humans but I didn’t see it distracting him a lot, to be honest.”
If that subject has not been weighing on Salah’s mind, then how is a run of just seven goals in 28 games between February and September 2022 explained? It is not the first time such a run has been endured – he went eight games without a goal of any kind in the 2019-20 campaign and still finished with 27 efforts to his name across all competitions.
It is that ability to come through the odd wobble that has those of a Liverpool persuasion still firmly in the Egyptian king’s camp, but others are prepared to open a discussion. Salah has no real need to answer to anybody, with his record speaking for itself, and it would come as a surprise to no one if he were to reach the end of May 2023 with another impressive haul of honours tucked away in a well-stocked trophy cabinet.