Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has been speaking about the Champions League and goal-scoring with Rio Ferdinand, who he left stunned about his thought process.
Speaking during an episode of Between The Lines for BT Sport, the ‘Egyptian king’ and the former Manchester United defender analysed an emphatic goal scored by the attacker against Rangers.
“I was just looking if I can go on the outside, but I felt like he was really smart to just stand and wait for his teammate [to block the inside route],” said Salah.
“In that moment I was just like how can I hit the ball just to pass him? Because the keeper is in his way, so the keeper cannot see the ball. He can’t see the ball properly.”
Ferdinand asked, “So you’re seeing this?”, to which Salah replied, “Yeah, of course.”
“Wow. That’s amazing,” he reacted. “So you’re in the game running at full speed, and you have slowed it down to say the defender is here in front of me two vs one, but the defender is in front of him, so I just need a yard to go bang. That’s the level.”
“That’s why the keeper didn’t even try, because it’s so hard to see the ball,” claimed Salah.
Ferdinand amazed by Salah’s thought process
This goes to show just how intelligent and quick-thinking football’s top attackers are.
Rather than trying to utilise his incredible speed on every play, he is pitting opposition players against one another.
The 30-year-old’s thought process behind this is actually quite staggering, and even a world-class defender like Ferdinand seemed really impressed by the tactic.
At this point, Salah is absolutely essential for Jurgen Klopp and his squad.
Not only is he the goal-scorer in the side, he is evidently a playmaker as well.
Therefore, if the team are to get back to where they should be, they will be relying on the winger to lead them forward.
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