Now Liverpool star Mohamed Salah can cement world-class status after brushing off ‘crisis’ talk

Yellow ball: Salah scored the majority of his goals during the winter months last term
REUTERS
David Lynch29 October 2018

There was no panic in the corridors of Melwood, no hastily arranged meetings with the manager - Mohamed Salah’s personal ‘crisis’ was to be treated as anything but.

In going four games without a goal prior to the international break, the 26-year-old had clocked up the longest goal-drought of his Liverpool career.

The shoulder injury sustained in last season’s Champions League final and a long-running dispute with the Egyptian FA were just two of the reasons posited for that slump.

But, as calls for the forward to be ‘rested’ - a kinder description for ‘dropped’ - increased in frequency, Jurgen Klopp and his staff remained unmoved.

They have, of course, been handsomely rewarded for their decision since the return of club football, the Reds No11 having plundered four goals in his last three outings.

And all it took was a change of scenery. Well, that and a goal direct from a corner.

Since netting his remarkable set-piece goal against eSwatini for Egypt, Salah looks to have rediscovered the form that saw him score 44 times in his debut season at Anfield.

Crucially, his last strike, the opener against Cardiff City on Saturday, also saw the return of a familiar beaming smile amidst the celebrations.

The Egyptian had cut a more sombre figure in the aftermath of goals against Huddersfield Town and Red Star Belgrade last week, perhaps confirming his awareness of recent criticism in the process.

In Pictures | Liverpool vs Cardiff City | 27/10/2018

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Klopp skilfully sidestepped a question about the player’s more muted recent reactions after the latter fixture, providing a typically humorous answer.

He said: “If he has not celebrated, maybe he’s a bit annoyed about getting asked about it! You ask all the time but I don’t go and ask ‘how do you feel about it?’

“It’s all good. I saw him celebrating but I couldn’t see his face in that moment. I know he’s fine. I saw his face when I took him off! That was different!”

But he will have been as delighted as anyone to see against Cardiff that Salah is not just back in form, but also playing carefree football again.

Despite his early season struggles, the former Roma man has clocked up seven goals from 14 appearances for 2018-19.

That is just two goals behind last season’s haul across the same number of outings and, worryingly for Premier League defences, we are now entering the period where the forward is typically at his deadliest.

Back in the goals: Mohamed Salah
Action Images via Reuters

Twenty-four of Salah’s record 32 league goals last season were scored with the yellow ball - a period comprising 24 games.

Nike’s fluorescent alternative ball was seen for the first time this weekend ahead of the clocks going back and will be used in the English top-flight until March 31.

It is strange to think what we’ll know by then about the Reds’ title hopes and Salah’s bid to cement world-class status courtesy of a second season of brilliance.

But with the worst having seemingly passed for the forward, as with everything else for Liverpool at the moment, the future looks bright.

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