It was in the bowels of this peculiar stadium in April that the last of the wheels fell off Liverpool’s title tilt — and the Jurgen Klopp era chuntered towards a disappointing end.

Eight or so months later, Liverpool are coasting forward and zooming away from all of the chasing pack like Max Verstappen and his Red Bull dominating all he surveys on the racetrack.

Whoever Arne Slot puts in the XI is making a habit of stepping up and performing, from top-earners to fringe stars. But no one is having a bigger impact than the so-called ‘Egyptian king’ Mohamed Salah.

It was on said day in April that he threw a tantrum at Klopp after starting on the bench in that 2-2 draw and told reporters after: ‘If I speak today there will be fire.’

There was fire of a different kind here: the latest episode of Salah setting the league alight with another virtuoso display to take his goal tally past 20 for the eighth successive season. That statistic should not be understated.

From sulky Salah in April to silky Salah in December, to steal a fine turn of phrase from Sky Sports’ master wordsmith Peter Drury.

There is a fair argument to be made that the Egyptian is currently the best player walking the planet.

Another sulk, Vinicius Jr of Real Madrid – who kicked up an embarrassing fuss when Rodri won the Ballon d’Or ahead of him earlier this year – managed 37 goals plus assists last season. Salah has already matched that this term, with half of the campaign still to play.

That should put into perspective the brilliance of this man. At 32, he is in as good shape as he has ever been – if not better. That 37 goal involvements could easily be 60 at least by the end of May and, if he stays on fit and in this form, he will surely be on that Ballon d’Or podium.

Of course a player of Salah’s class has a hint of arrogance and self-importance but he will care more about team accolades than those individual awards. And with him playing with this swagger, there is no reason why Liverpool cannot sweep up the four trophies on offer this term.

There is a reason the fabled and elusive Quadruple has never been achieved and it is a tall order again this year but they are certainly the favourites for all three domestic gongs — and every other team in Europe would fear playing this formidable bunch in the Champions League.

As Salah passed the 20-goal mark for the eighth year in a row, it was interesting to note that he did so in his 26th match. That was the exact number of games he had played in 2017-18 when he hit 20 – and he went on to score 44 in total. Can he top that tally this season?

You would be a fool to bet against that happening – but the reason it might not could be because Salah is not as greedy as he was back then. He is now an all-round player who contributes in a creative sense, with two assists here taking him to 13 for the season.

His first assist for Cody Gakpo was a majestic touch of skill to evade his marker and tee up the flying Dutchman to score again, while the second came after a spellbinding run from deep and perfectly-weighted pass into the path of substitute Diogo Jota.

Salah is arguably improving some facets of his game under Slot and the same can be said across the board in the front line, save for perhaps the misfiring Darwin Nunez. Goal-scorers Gakpo and Luis Diaz have both increased their output under the new head coach.

The pair have 23 goals between them this season, which is just six fewer than they managed in the entirety of the last campaign. 

The way they are playing and combining as a front three, January will only be several days old by the time they pass that tally.

But Salah is a manager’s dream – this extends to fantasy football bosses, with the Egyptian surpassing 200 points for the season now – and he is the talisman firing Liverpool towards what they will hope to be a trophy-laden 2025.

line4k

Premium IPTV Experience • 28,000+ Channels • 4K Quality

Start Streaming Today

Experience premium entertainment with our special trial offer

Get Started Now