Mohamed Salah Achieves A New Premier League Milestone In The Win Against Tottenham.
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah achieved an unprecedented milestone in the Premier League during the Reds’ 4-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield. Liverpool responded to their recent subpar performances with an hour of relentless attacking against Ange Postecoglou’s side, thus extending the three-way title race for at least another week.
Salah initiated the scoring in the 16th minute by evading Emerson Royal at the back post to connect with a delivery from Cody Gakpo, and his header proved too difficult for Guglielmo Vicario to stop.
Just before halftime, the Egyptian forced Vicario into a save, spilling the rebound into the path of Andrew Robertson for a straightforward tap-in, as Jurgen Klopp’s team refused to settle for a two-goal advantage.
Following Harvey Elliott’s assist to Gakpo for Liverpool’s third goal early in the second half, Salah then provided the assist for Elliott to unleash a long-range strike into the top corner, thus etching his name into Premier League history.
Mo Salah opens the scoring for Liverpool 🔴⚡ pic.twitter.com/U450ZsBUYB
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 5, 2024
Salah achieves a historic milestone and matches Wayne Rooney’s record. The 31-year-old had already reached double figures for the Premier League season before Sunday’s match, now boasting 18 goals in the top flight. His assist for Elliott marked his 10th assist of the 2023-24 campaign.
By providing the final pass for Elliott, Salah became the first player in Premier League history to score at least 10 goals and provide at least 10 assists in three consecutive seasons in the competition.
Last season, the former Chelsea player notched up 19 goals and 12 assists, while in the 2021-22 season, he found the back of the net 23 times, joint-most with Son Heung-min, and provided 13 more assists.
Although Salah only provided five assists in the 2020-21 season, he achieved double figures in both goals and assists during Liverpool’s title-winning 2019-20 season (19 goals and 10 assists) and his debut 2017-18 campaign with Liverpool (32 goals and 10 assists).
Wayne Rooney is the only other player to have scored 10 goals and provided 10 assists in five separate Premier League seasons. Klopp praised Salah’s performance in his post-match press conference, describing it as “exceptional” following their touchline row.
The duo had a touchline altercation during the previous weekend’s 2-2 draw with West Ham United. Following the incident, Salah hinted at potential tension, suggesting there would be “fire” if he were to discuss the exchange with his manager.
Nevertheless, Klopp reiterated multiple times that the issue had been resolved, a sentiment further evidenced by Salah’s reinstatement to the starting lineup for Sunday’s match. The Egyptian’s performance against Emerson demonstrated his dominance throughout the game.
While praising the “exceptional” Elliott, Klopp also commended Salah, stating, “Harvey is exceptional. He’s still very young and outstanding. He has been one of our top performers for a long time, even when playing on the right wing in Mo’s absence or during the Africa Cup of Nations. He has consistently performed exceptionally well.”
He further added, “On the right side, alongside Mo – who was also exceptional today – Harvey and Trent [Alexander-Arnold] can occupy those positions effectively and make informed decisions. They can choose to stay wide because we are well-organized centrally in terms of our footballing approach.”
Liverpool remains mathematically in contention for the title, occupying third place ahead of their upcoming match against Aston Villa on May 13. However, they trail by five points, and either a win from Arsenal or Manchester City would eliminate them from the race.
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