Manchester City looked a shell of their former selves during Liverpool’s 2-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The Reds have had some epic battles with City both at home and away ever since Pep Guardiola’s appointment in 2016.
But with Liverpool starting the day 17 points clear of the champions, the result was as one-sided as many had predicted it would be.
It wasn’t that City played poorly, necessarily, they simply couldn’t lay a finger on Liverpool.
Ultimately, Mohamed Salah was the difference between the two teams, with the Egyptian superstar showing why many have tipped him to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or.
How City must have wished to have called upon the 2024 winner, Rodri. But after the injured Spaniard’s latest admission about Salah, perhaps he wouldn’t have been able to help anyway.
Rodri names Mo Salah as toughest opponent
There’s no question that City have missed Rodri this season. Their sharp decline began once the defensive midfielder picked up a season ending injury against Arsenal in October after all.
Rodri is quite possibly the best midfielder on the planet and is certainly top dog in the deeper-lying role.
Having won the Ballon d’Or in 2024, he is also a huge name in world football.
As a result, Rodri naming Salah as the ‘toughest opponent’ of his career should be seen as a feather in the cap of Liverpool’s Egyptian King.
“I would say two,” Rodri told JD Sports when asked to name his most difficult opponent. “Of course for me the best player I faced and the most difficult one has been Messi by far.
“But if I have to tell you in my career I would say Mo Salah. Because many times we’ve faced them, we all know the rivalry we have between City and Liverpool. He’s a fantastic player but it’s so, so painful when he is at his best level, yeah.”
Will Salah succeed Rodri and win the Ballon d’Or?
Rodri has praised Liverpool plenty of times since his arrival at City in 2019. The Spain international clearly has a great deal of respect for the Reds.
And by the sounds of it he would be happy to see Salah snatch his Ballon d’Or crown later this year.
Rodri is certainly not going to be in the running again, having missed most of the season through injury.
For Salah to succeed him, Liverpool will likely to have to win the Champions League. If they do not, the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Robert Lewandowski, Harry Kane and Vinicius Jnr will come into the picture.
If Liverpool can go all the way and collect the Premier League and Champions League, though, there will be no question that Mo will be the man to win it.
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