Mohamed Salah deserves extra recognition for a wonderful season. The Liverpool star was a bright spark in an otherwise miserable campaign.
Where would Liverpool have been without Mohamed Salah last season? Certainly not third. Or fourth. Maybe not even top half.
The Egyptian was absolutely brilliant and earned himself a place in the PFA Team of the Season for 2020/21. A fully deserved place.
But the praise shouldn’t stop there. It’s quite incredible that he managed to be one of the best players in the Premier League last season and that should be recognised.
Mohamed Salah and his incredible season
Salah scored 22 Premier League goals and 31 across all competitions. Those are incredible numbers but also what you’d expect.
After all, this is a player with two Premier League Golden Boots and was unlucky not to win a third this season. He’s one of the best goalscorers on the planet.
But to score that many goals in a season like this? It’s remarkable. Salah did this while being the only reliable attacking player at Liverpool.
Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino combined managed two fewer than Salah in the Premier League. Six fewer in all competitions.
The midfield, too, was a broken mess. Jordan Henderson was injured from February, Fabinho spent most of the campaign in defence, Thiago was injured for two months on top of being a brand new player. There was nothing reliable back there.
Not to mention the defence. The injuries there completely disrupted the team. Liverpool had no fluidity or consistency for the vast majority of the campaign.
Yet despite playing in the most disjointed Liverpool side for years, despite having the pressure on him, and despite being called a ‘negative effect’ on the team, Salah scored 31 goals.
For perspective, only three players scored at least 31 goals in a season for Liverpool over the last 20 years. Fernando Torres in 07/08 (33), Luis Suarez in 13/14 (31), and Salah in 17/18 (44).
They didn’t have to do it without a single other player having a standout season, though. Even Harry Kane, the eventual Golden Boot winner this season, had the luxury of playing alongside fellow PFA TOTS player Son Heung-Min. Salah didn’t – no one else shared the responsibility.
In total, Salah’s Premier League goals were worth 17 points to Liverpool this season. It was an incredible effort in a difficult season and he deserves every bit of praise coming his way.