Nice Offer; We'll Counter With Salah
Liverpool's Number 11 is on the verge of securing another unheralded record
It feels like Mohamed Salah carves out a little piece of history in almost every game he plays at the moment. Some of the pieces of trivia are more niche than others, granted, but he has recently become Liverpool’s top goal scorer in the Premier League, both in total and away from home, and he is the competition’s leading man for left-footed strikes too.
Salah is also just one goal behind Robbie Fowler in the Reds’ all-time goal scorer chart, and just four adrift of Steven Gerrard. If the Egyptian can bag five goals in the remaining eight matches – and it’s a favourable looking run-in – he will begin 2023/24 as Liverpool’s fifth highest goal-getter in history.
With his brace at Elland Road on Monday night, Salah equalled another obscure top flight record, at least for the period from the 2009/10 season onwards. His ability in this area should help him get closer to the aforementioned legends before May is out.
In one sense, the 30-year-old had the most routine night of the Reds’ front three; Cody Gakpo collected his first assist for the club, while Diogo Jota ended his lengthy goal drought.
The former Wolves man also set up a goal, and as with the Dutch forward’s effort, the grateful recipient of the pass was Salah. Both goals were classified as ‘fast breaks’ (or counter attacks) by Opta, which means they were “created after the defensive [side] quickly turn defence into attack winning the ball in their own half.” Liverpool certainly did that, with Jota heavily involved both times.
The pair took Salah to five such goals for the season, with his winner against Manchester City, the opener in the Merseyside derby at Anfield and in his instinctive smash in the 7-0 pummelling of Manchester United the other examples. By these standards of opposition importance, a Monday night at Leeds is positively low key.
Most teams don’t bag that many Opta-defined counter attacking goals in a season; it only occurred 46 times in the previous 12 full Premier League campaigns, a shade under four a year. By securing a nap hand, Salah has become just the fifth player to record five fast break strikes in a single season since the summer of 2009. Fancy a pop quiz, hotshot?
Jamie Vardy is likely the one you’d guess first, albeit him doing so in 2019/20 wouldn’t be the season you’d choose for this ludicrously difficult teaser. Seeing the names of Harry Kane (in the same season) and Sergio Aguero (five years early) isn’t too surprising, though if you knew Cesc Fàbregas was the final player, in 2009/10, then you’re much smarter than you look.
The quartet all had fewer fast break shots than Salah, so he has been the least efficient, but the fact he has had so many - only four teams other than Liverpool have had more this term - shows there’s plenty of life in the Reds’ attack.
Nine sides other than Jürgen Klopp’s men have conceded at least three counter attack goals this season, and Salah still has to face five of them (starting with Nottingham Forest on Saturday). His book of niche records may need a new chapter before the end of next month.