Mohamed Salah will go down in history as one of Liverpool’s all-time greatest players. The Egyptian has scored 204 goals in his career at Anfield.
Yet, this winter, without Salah, Liverpool’s juggernaut attack has continued to thrive even with him out of the line-up.
🚨 Klopp on Mo Salah: "If somebody really questions the loyalty of Mo Salah, I think he should ask himself if his loyalty is right"."Mo Salah is the most loyal Egyptian I've ever met in my life". pic.twitter.com/xv9Spy6g3N— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 25, 2024
🚨 Klopp on Mo Salah: "If somebody really questions the loyalty of Mo Salah, I think he should ask himself if his loyalty is right"."Mo Salah is the most loyal Egyptian I've ever met in my life". pic.twitter.com/xv9Spy6g3N
The winger was initially set to miss several weeks of action due to competing in the Africa Cup of Nations tournament. However, a hamstring injury now has Salah on the sidelines.
Without Salah, Egypt crashed out of the AFCON tournament in the round of 16 on penalties against DR Congo. Fortunately for Liverpool, without Salah, they have had no issues.
His last match for Liverpool before leaving for AFCON was on New Year’s Day against Newcastle United. The match ended in a 4-2 win for Liverpool, with Salah scoring twice and assisting one goal.
Liverpool have since played six games in all competitions without Salah, posting a record of five wins and one draw, and qualifying for the Carabao Cup final.
More recently, Liverpool smashed Chelsea 4-1 with Diogo Jota, Conor Bradley, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Luis Diaz all getting onto the scoresheet.
Even without Salah, the Reds have continued to thrive in the final third.
The Reds scored 18 goals in the six games without Salah. In the Premier League, they put four goals past Bournemouth and Chelsea in consecutive games.
While Salah is tied for the league lead in goals with 14, perhaps fears will be massaged that Liverpool can live if the forward leaves.
But Salah isn’t just a goal scorer. He creates goals too. It is an area of his game that has improved over the years. Salah has eight assists in the Premier League this term to go along with his 14 goals.
Liverpool’s goal scoring and assist stats for this season are frightening. Three players have 10 goals or more (Salah, Jota, and Darwin Nunez).
Three players have nine or more assists (Salah, Nunez, and Trent Alexander-Arnold).
Remarkably, Bradley, who has played in just nine games, now has five assists. This is a club that retooled during the offseason and are achieving more than anyone would have expected in August.
Liverpool will begin matchday No. 23 five points ahead of Manchester City and Arsenal. The Reds will go to the Emirates, where they won in the FA Cup third round in early January without Salah.
If the Egyptian were to leave in the offseason for Saudi Arabia as has been rumoured since last summer, then the Reds may be in a better place than previously thought. It could be replacing Jurgen Klopp that is far more difficult.