In his fifth season at the club, Mohamed Salah still managed to find new and inventive ways to dazzle us and sometimes take our breath away.
The Liverpool winger came off the blocks like a possessed man, finding the net in 10 consecutive games culminating in an unprecedented hat-trick at Old Trafford.
That race included the goal of the season’s contenders against Man City and Watford, who were touted by many as the best on the planet.
The level at which Salah operated before Christmas was simply too much for the defenders: it was a force of nature.
Mohamed Salah, 2021/22
Started: 45 (All competitions)Active as a replacement: 6Unused replacement: 0Goals: 31Assistance: 16
Overall rating of the season: 9.62
Making history
His role in Man United’s 5-0 win deserves its own review.
Salah became the first player in Premier League history to draw three at the home of our M62 friends and it seemed visibly annoying that Liverpool could not get more after Paul Pogba’s red card.
These three goals came immediately after the phenomenal solo efforts against City and Watford respectively, both absolute works of art.
It’s probably the best month a Liverpool player has ever had.
Unsatisfied with Old Trafford’s heroism, the golden period continued with a double at Goodison Park. Two well-made finishes to sink another bitter rival into their local patch and elevate their status in European football.
In addition to 31 goals in all competitions, Salah also made 16 impressive assists.
Thirteen of them reached the league, enough to capture the award for best player of the Premier League season and nullify any criticism of his perceived selfish nature in front of goal.
The prolific form of goals also spread to Europe.
Mo entered new territory scoring seven goals in the group stage of the Champions League, more than any Liverpool player in the history of the competition.
It’s a particularly impressive count if you consider the “Death Group” tag attached to Group B when the draw came out.
Goals against Villa, Newcastle and Chelsea followed ahead of their international call-up in January.
Beyond the matches lost during the Africa Cup of Nations, the only squad of the day that did not have Salah (both in the Premier League and in Europe) was out in Southampton last week. the season.
Post-AFCON fights
It feels a little hard to describe another record-breaking campaign as a two-half season, but there was a tangible change in production when the Egyptian returned from the CAN, which is worth analyzing.
The misfortune of losing an international trophy, with the weight of a nation on its shoulders, was exacerbated by defeat in a World Cup qualifier seven weeks later.
Sadio Mane was the beneficiary on both occasions.
Salah’s lack of penalties in the final round of the World Cup qualifiers would be enough to divert anyone, and the setbacks of the team were in no way useful for his form towards the end of the season. .
Of course, there has also been a cloud in the form of a contract over your head for most of the season, an unwanted distraction for any professional who wants to produce the best of their abilities on a weekly basis.
Although there is no resolution yet at the time of writing, Liverpool fans around the world will be waiting for an agreement to be reached over the summer to allow Salah to thrive the way it did. do at the beginning of the season.
In short, however, it is a season that has given a series of individual and collective honors.
Salah became only the fourth player in the Premier League era to win three Golden Boot awards, leaving him just shy of Thierry Henry’s total record (four).
He also won a second PFA Player of the Year award and another Football Writers Association Footballer of the Year award.
What next?
It is an indicator of the standards that have been established that, despite all the individual praise, questions have still been raised about the form.
Salah hopes to enter 2022/23 with energy and ready to get started in the same way as last season.
It’s worth noting that Egypt’s failure to qualify for the World Cup will give you the best part of the six-week break between November and December, a welcome bonus from Liverpool’s perspective given the relentless nature of the World Cup. its schedule in recent times.
Regardless of what happens with the contract situation, it has been a pleasure and a privilege to see this man week after week at the height of his powers.
After confirming their intention to stay next season, we can start waiting for more moments of brilliance while this amazing team chases all the honors again.
Players like this come once per generation, they appreciate it as long as it lasts.
Best time: The hat-trick at Old Trafford
Worst moment: Penalty missed in Leicester
Role next season: The talisman once again, even more so in the face of the impending departure of Sadio Mane