The Perennial King

Mohamed Salah is still that guy for Liverpool.

Just a few months ago, it was cool to forecast the decline of Liverpool. The Reds had competed at the summit of European football for the best part of a decade, but their downfall was just around the corner according to every pundit under the sun.

Jürgen Klopp harvested every last drop of potential from his group of players during his tenure, but after nine special years of service, he decided to ride off into the sunset. The German fancied spending more time in Majorca. I mean, can you blame him?

But those who predicted turbulence at Anfield have since been proven incorrect, and then some. The Reds have played 18 matches in all competitions this term, winning 16. They are top of the Premier League by eight points — which is insane at this stage — and top of the Champions League by two.

Klopp was pretty important, no question, but football belongs to the players who kick the ball, and Arne Slot inherited quite a selection of those in the summer, including a king among men.

Liverpool’s most important individual over the past few years isn’t currently sat drinking a pint of Erdinger on a yacht in Palma, no. He’s just scored two against Southampton.

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We’ve witnessed a collective effort on Merseyside, with the suits upstairs combining with the nerds in the bunker, the coaches in the dugout, and the players on the pitch. Organisations win championships.

No one individual is behind Liverpool’s current state of good health, but if we’re having that debate, Mohamed Salah has more of a claim than most. The Egyptian international is evergreen, stepping up once again when his team needed him on the weekend.

After 64 minutes of football on the south coast, Liverpool were 2-1 down against Southampton until Salah delivered with a moment of magic, running in behind and finishing with his first touch.

Around 15 minutes later, he found a way to bag the winner, picking up the ball in a more withdrawn space than usual before playing a dangerous pass in the direction of the back post, forcing Yukinari Sugawara to panic and handle the ball inside the six-yard box.

Salah scored the resulting penalty as expected. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, the dynamic that he offers from that side of the pitch is largely irreplaceable, and it offers an insight into why Liverpool have mostly thrived since signing him.

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As a left footer who favours the right side of the field, Salah has been pretty much unrivalled throughout his prime, albeit with the obvious exception of a certain Lionel Messi.

What happened against Southampton is not a regular occurrence if you’re a supporter of an English team not named Liverpool. Don’t forget, only 25 per cent of players in the Premier League are lefties.

Since signing for the Reds in 2017, Salah has accumulated a total of 136 non-penalty goals in England’s top flight, while posting a further 74 assists. That equates to about 28.3 scoring contributions per Premier League season from the right side. Pure gold.

You can usually get decent product on the opposite flank. Luis Díaz, Cody Gakpo, Sadio Mané, Diogo Jota. You’ve also got Kylian Mbappé, Kaoro Mitoma, Kingsley Coman, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Rafael Leão, Anthony Gordon, Vinícius Júnior, Son Heung-min. There’s just more of those guys around, but finding a steady form of output from the right wing tends to be a tricky task.

When you get a player who is clearly good on that side, you should thank your lucky stars. Arsenal have got that with Bukayo Saka right now. Barcelona have found it once again in Lamine Yamal, after losing it for a few years post-Messi.

Gareth Bale did that job for Real Madrid. Arjen Robben for Bayern Munich. Riyad Mahrez for Manchester City. Think of a really good team from the past ten years, and you’ll probably notice they had guaranteed product on both flanks.

But establishing that dynamic is hard. For perspective, here are all the right-sided forwards who moved within Europe’s top seven leagues for £15m or more in the last transfer window:

David Neres, Michael Olise, Ismaila Sarr, Pedro Neto, Yankuba Minteh, Brajan Gruda, Moussa Diaby, Mason Greenwood, Savinho, Matías Soulé, Francisco Conceição, Nicolás González.

How many of those are good enough to start for Liverpool?

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Everybody thought our nosedive would happen after Klopp. But no, if we want to make the story about one individual, any sudden decline is far more likely to coincide with the departure of Salah. That’s when Manchester United’s Class of '92 should crack open a bottle of wine.

Indeed, he’s been responsible for providing 67 per cent of his team’s goals and assists in the Premier League this season, and at the ripe old age of 32. For context, no other player in the division has shouldered more than 60 per cent of his team’s load.

As for his contribution to Liverpool’s non-penalty xG per match — via getting shots and creating them for his teammates — Salah is behind about 48 per cent of Slot’s attack this season, as shown below in comparison to every other team’s most productive player.

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Salah is still Liverpool’s main man. Still wearing his crown. Still sat on his throne. And all of his returns originate from the part of the pitch that elite players tend to neglect.

I’m not going to address his contract in this post, no. I’m not here to talk about all that. This is merely a nod in the direction of — arguably — our most important player. The guy who wins more points on his own than anybody else in red; 17 to be exact, according to the timings of his goals and assists in the Premier League this term.

If you feared Klopp’s emotional farewell, you should be terrified of Salah’s future departure, although based on his current form, his reign could last forever.