Mohamed Salah came to Liverpool’s rescue against Southampton, scoring two vital goals to send Arne Slot’s side eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Mohamed Salah, shirt swinging above his head, knew he had done it again. Just like in 2019 when he raced towards the Liverpool fans at St Mary’s, it was the Egyptian who made the decisive contribution.
It is no exaggeration to suggest that his brace could be looked back on in May as a turning point for Liverpool. If the Reds can move 11 points clear of Manchester City by beating Pep Guardiola’s men at Anfield next Sunday, it will be in part because of this result.
Racing clear of Manchester City before playing Everton in December, Leicester City on Boxing Day and Manchester United at home early in the New Year? It’s 2019/20 again and Liverpool will be more than happy to run that season back — ideally this time without a global pandemic.
Salah now has 12 goals in all competitions this season. He is, once again, on course to get 30-plus across the course of the year and that is before adding in his assists too — he is already in double figures for teeing up his teammates, showing himself as an elite playmaker as well goalscorer.
It is an obvious point but only because it is repeated every week: in almost every game, Salah makes a decisive impact that makes his contract even more of a pressing matter. Can Liverpool continue to afford to pay someone of his age the biggest contract anyone has ever earned at Anfield? Increasingly, the argument should be whether it can afford not to.
The potentially iconic images of Salah celebrating his winner at Southampton paint the picture of a player desperate to stay. All the signs point to him being happy on Merseyside and the smile plastered across his face would appear to back that up.
