One other day, one other Mo Salah masterclass.
We might and arguably ought to hunt round to seek out one thing else a bit extra novel to put in writing about right here, however actually it more and more takes one thing near wilfully contrarian attention-seeking to disregard the obvious motive for Liverpool’s gorgeous season.
It’s not fairly appropriate to recommend these are unprecedented ranges for Salah, given what he’s already achieved at Liverpool. However he completely has by no means been higher than he’s been this season and this was one other very good particular person efficiency on a night when Liverpool had been as a complete form of unremarkable.
That is a gigantic praise, by the best way. Salah aside, it could be arduous to single out a Liverpool participant who put in an impressive particular person efficiency. They had been all good, clearly, all did what’s required and anticipated of them. However Liverpool are actually a crew for whom a sequence of six and 7 out of 10 performances augmented by Salah’s now customary 9 is sufficient to safe a thumping victory away from residence.
West Ham stored the Reds at bay for half an hour, however as soon as Luis Diaz began the ball rolling after a slice of fine fortune with the best way the ball bounced again to him, Liverpool set to work.
The second aim would be the one talked about. Salah cleverly manipulated the offside guidelines to completely legitimately dash ahead from an offside place to select up the ball a couple of seconds later earlier than an outrageous spin and flick despatched the ball into the trail of Cody Gakpo for a tap-in.
Sky’s pundits spent half-time debating whether or not or not he meant it. We’re cheerfully keen at this level to use The Bergkamp Protocols right here and settle for it was intentional merely due to the particular participant in query.
West Ham weren’t innocent on this equation, both. After a short rally at 1-0 down wherein Mohammed Kudus thudded a shot into the bottom of the submit they collapsed. The choice to permit Salah the time to face nonetheless within the penalty space, put his foot on the ball after which give Alphonse Areola the eyes earlier than discovering the underside nook felt questionable.
It should certainly be time for one other two-game Julen Lopetegui ultimatum, with Man Metropolis and Fulham up subsequent both aspect of an FA Cup conflict with Villa.
For the second time in exactly per week, Liverpool spent a lot of the second half of a doubtlessly tough journey to London coasting to a merely thumping nice victory slightly than the doubtless record-breaking one on supply in the event that they fancied it. As at Spurs, it was totally comprehensible given the time of yr and upcoming workload, however annoying nonetheless. Why solely rating 5 – 6 when eight or 9 are so clearly on supply? Poor stuff from Arne Slot’s complacent coasters, it must be mentioned.
They did nonetheless rating two extra objectives within the second half, one inevitably assisted by Salah in fact who jinked this manner and that earlier than expertly teeing up Diogo Jota. That takes his absurd numbers for the Premier League season to 17 objectives and 13 assists from simply 18 video games.
It’s the eighth sport already this season wherein Salah has each scored and assisted. For a clue at how genuinely ridiculous that statistic is, Bukayo Saka is the one different participant within the Premier League this season to have managed eight assists all in.
Salah is now three away from his nearest rival for each objectives and assists, whereas Liverpool’s tally of 45 objectives this season is now 4 greater than Spurs, who don’t actually matter, and 7 greater than any correct crew has managed.
With an eight-point lead over Nottingham Forest as a result of apparently it’s 1979, Liverpool head into the brand new yr in absurdly impolite well being. There’s a sure merciless irony in Pep’s City going so entirely to sh*t the second Jurgen Klopp departs however it does now seem that solely a critical calamity involving Salah can probably reopen a title race wherein even Arsenal and Chelsea are actually distant spectators and Metropolis barely even that to disclaim Slot a shocking first-season success.