Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba has claimed that Liverpool forward is one of the best players in the world.
Salah only played a short cameo last night as The Reds beat Villa 2-1. Nakamba was actually already off the pitch by the time the the Egyptian entered the fray, but that didn’t stop him singing his praises in a post-match interview with Stadium Astro.
“He’s not that bad,” laughed Nakamba after being asked for his thoughts on Salah. “He’s one of the best players in the world!”
The 28-year-old claimed that Villa believed that they could get a result from the game against Liverpool, but it wasn’t to be.
“We knew Liverpool would have quality, but I think the technical staff believed in us and gave us the confidence like ‘come on guys, believe in yourself.’
“We have done it before. We went toe to toe with Man City and were a bit unlucky and today again we went against them, toe to toe, and we tried our best. Hopefully soon we have the luck on our side.”
Mo maintains his star quality
Despite Salah’s recent struggles in-front of goal, he is still a reference point for many opposition players, as well as his teammates.
It was a little strange to see Liverpool’s top goalscorer reduced to a bit-part player in a crucial game for his team. But his form is such that he didn’t warrant a start at Villa Park.
Liverpool are at crunch-time in their title fight with Manchester City. Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane are currently providing a greater goal threat than Salah while Diogo Jota always has a goal in him too.
Furthermore, Mo just looks like he needs some time off. It’s likely that Jurgen Klopp’s decision to bench him was more to do with giving his number 11 a rest rather than any indication that he’s unhappy with his form.
Either way, the break should have done him some good. Salah has been stuck on 22 Premier League goals for some time now, but he is still the man to beat in that respect.
Mo is simply too good for this slump to become a more permanent status. Fingers crossed that the rest yesterday will get him well prepared for four massive games to end the season.
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