Even in a season that has contained some historic lows for Liverpool, Mohamed Salah has already registered a series of feats that stand out in the club’s past for the right reasons.
With one game to go, he is on the brink of another achievement that would put him in a select group of three, along with perhaps the Premier League’s greatest player and its record scorer.
Salah starts Sunday's game against Crystal Palace with dual objectives: to secure the win that books Liverpool’s place in the top four and to get the goals to earn himself the Golden Boot.
He is level on 22 goals with Harry Kane. He has already become the first Liverpool player to reach 20 in three Premier League campaigns and the first since Ian Rush to reach 20 in all competitions in four successive seasons.
Salah was the Premier League’s top scorer in 2017-18 with 32 goals. A year later, his 22 put him level with his team-mate Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Even the one season when Salah did not win the Golden Boot, he finished with 19 goals, just four fewer than Jamie Vardy. Should Salah now win the award for the third time in four seasons, it would put him in exalted company.
Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry both recorded hat-tricks in successive seasons, with the Frenchman taking his tally to four years as top scorer. No one else has done it more than twice.
For Jurgen Klopp, Salah’s scoring is all the more impressive because Liverpool’s has been a troubled season. Both Roberto Firmino and Mane have found goals elusive, while Diogo Jota has suffered from injuries. The Egyptian has been the constant, starting with his opening-day hat-trick against Leeds. His goals have been worth 17 points; subtract them and Liverpool would be below Aston Villa.
“It is easy to see where we would be without Mo’s goals but it’s the same for all the teams, if their top scorers don’t score it would look different,” Klopp said.
Salah’s single-minded pursuit of goals has benefited the whole side. “We know the team helps him a lot but Mo carries a lot as well: it’s his desire, it’s his professionalism, it’s his greed as well which helps us completely,” his manager added.
“And this year is one of his best years without having the best numbers of all he had. But it is a really top year for him because for a striker in a team, which is not flying constantly, scoring these numbers it is absolutely exceptional. That’s what makes him really special.”
Without Salah, though, Liverpool would not have the possibility of qualifying for next year’s Champions League. Their campaign has posed unprecedented difficulties, whether in terms of defensive injuries or complications from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Klopp has suffered personally; his mother Elisabeth died in January and, with travel banned, he was unable to go to the funeral in Germany.
“Was it the most difficult? Yes,” he said. “It was the most difficult year of my life and the season was obviously in this year because I never thought I would have to deal with the pandemic; not me personally but us all. I found that really difficult to deal with at times, to be honest.
"Football was part of it. What did I learn? That sleep is overestimated. And am I a better manager? Better, I am not sure, but much more experienced. We make so many experiences we couldn’t have in any other years. There will be a time when I appreciate that but it will be in the future, not in the moment.”
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Naga
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS
Cadillac XT6 2020 Premium Luxury
Engine: 3.6L V-6
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 310hp
Torque: 367Nm
Price: Dh280,000
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Fringe@Four Line-up
October 1 - Phil Nichol (stand-up comedy)
October 29 - Mandy Knight (stand-up comedy)
November 5 - Sinatra Raw (Fringe theatre)
November 8 - Imah Dumagay & Sundeep Fernandes (stand-up comedy)
November 13 - Gordon Southern (stand-up comedy)
November 22 - In Loyal Company (Fringe theatre)
November 29 - Peter Searles (comedy / theatre)
December 5 - Sinatra’s Christmas Under The Stars (music / dinner show)
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
