Mo Salah may have come up with the goods for Liverpool yet again on Sunday, but that didn’t spare him from criticism from one pundit.
The Egyptian’s 22nd goal of the season ensured a 2-1 victory for the Reds against Brighton, although Steve Nicol said that the 31-year-old’s tendency to lose possession utterly torments him.
Speaking on ESPN FC, the ex-LFC defender said: “Oh my goodness, he absolutely drives me insane. I’ve never seen a player who’s so good make so many errors. I mean, it just drives you crazy.
“In the second half when Elliott, after he came on, was wide on the right on his own. Salah tries to pass it to him and he skewed it, and it hit the Brighton defender on the knee and straight to Elliott. It sums him up sometimes.
“He always does [have a lot of shots] and he always has loads of touches; and surprise surprise, he scores the winning goal. You’d put your money on him to be the match winner every time but you’d also put your money on him to be the forward who gives the ball away more times than any other. It just drives me crazy.”
Nicol’s complaints about Salah giving the ball away aren’t without foundation – he lost possession 25 times against Brighton, at least 11 more than any other Liverpool player (Sofascore) – but that comes from the Egyptian’s willingness to go for gold in the final third.
He had a remarkable tally of 12 shots yesterday and, while his finishing was uncharacteristically wayward at times, he ultimately came good when his team needed him the most.
Whatever imperfections he might have to his game are far overruled by his incredible consistency in terms of goalscoring, and it’s a trade-off that every Reds fan would gladly accept.
