Mo Salah has been praised by one of his Liverpool teammates over his remarkable goalscoring and fitness records during his time with the club.
The Egyptian netted his 30th goal of the season, his 186th for the Reds and his 100th at Anfield with the winner against Brentford on Saturday, a result which keeps Jurgen Klopp’s side firmly in the hunt for Champions League qualification.
Virgil van Dijk has subsequently claimed that the 30-year-old has perhaps not been shown the respect he deserves for his consistency in front of goal and his near-constant availability for selection.
As per Liverpool Echo, the Dutchman said: “Statistics show that (Salah is making history) and we shouldn’t forget he’s playing as a winger. And that’s also quite rare to score so many goals in that position.
“There is so much work that goes in behind the scenes (at the AXA Training Centre), for Mo in this case. But it goes for a lot of players that nobody really sees.
“For him to be fit for 97% of the (Premier League and Champions League) games, that’s maybe the most difficult thing along with staying consistent each and every game.
“He is doing it consistently, even when we are struggling he has still found a way to be important for the team. Being consistent every three or four days, obviously you can have games where you don’t score but you can reach that level, and also stay fit, that’s the most difficult thing to do.
“People don’t really speak about those kind of things too much, but maybe we should. On top of that, his numbers speak for themselves. In the world we live in nowadays, maybe the respect comes after he has stopped playing.”
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Salah’s phenomenal goalscoring figures for Liverpool are no secret, with the Egyptian moving to joint-fifth in the club’s all-time goal charts on Saturday as he levelled Steven Gerrard’s haul in fewer than half the number of games that it took the former Reds captain (lfchistory.net).
However, what perhaps goes under the radar is the rarity of injury absences. As per Transfermarkt, he’s been ruled out of only three games in his six years on Merseyside, a remarkable feat for a player who routinely draws (sometimes overly rough) attention from opponents.
No outfield player has started more Premier League games for us this season, with the 30-year-old omitted from the line-up for just one of the 35 top-flight matches so far (WhoScored) and playing the full 90 minutes in 30 of those (Transfermarkt).
Some of Salah’s teammates have been ravaged by injuries during their time at Anfield, so for the Egyptian to be so reliable in terms of availability – as well as finding the net – shows why any manager in the world would love to have him in their squad.
Let’s just be thankful that this truly sublime and trustworthy footballer plays for Liverpool.