LIVERPOOL FC achieved a dramatic victory at home to Crystal Palace, Saturday (9/12/2023). Mohamed Salah contributed one goal, while also setting a series of new records both at club and Premier League level.
Appearing in a white jersey with fresh green accents, Liverpool did not show their best performance. The hosts put more pressure and controlled the game. Even in the press conference after the match, manager Jurgen Klopp admitted that this was one of his team’s worst performances. The Reds were lucky to be able to bring home three points from Selhurts Park.
Or more precisely, Liverpool is lucky because they have Salah. This player from Egypt was the creator of both goals for the Reds. One goal, one assist. After sharing the score 0-0 in the first half, Palace took the lead through Jean-Philippe Mateta’s penalty. The player who entered at the start of the second half calmly beat Alisson Becker.
The referee awarded a penalty after defender Jarell Amorin Quansah fouled Mateta in the penalty box. The violation was confirmed by video footage shown by VAR. Luckily Liverpool were helped by two ridiculous violations committed by Jordan Pierre Ayew. The Palace striker collected two yellow cards in 15 minutes, so he had to leave the field in the 75th minute.
It wasn’t until a minute after Ayew came out that Liverpool scored the equalizer. Starting from Cody Gakpo’s cross to Curtis Jones, the ball then rolled to the feet of Mo Salah who mercilessly fired a precise shot. Palace’s bad luck increased when goalkeeper Samuel Johnstone had to be withdrawn in the 87th minute due to an injury. In his place came second goalkeeper Remi Matthews.
Even though at the same time, Liverpool was increasing their attack tension in order to win the match. The long-awaited decisive goal finally arrived when it entered injury time. Salah again contributed to the winning goal. Seeing Harvey Elliott’s movement in the middle, Salah gave the ball and then opened up space on the wing of the field.
Elliott then took the ball close to the penalty box, past several opposing players who were blocking him, before finally taking a long-range shot. Goal! Crystal Palace 1, Liverpool 2.
The goal scored by Salah in the 76th minute not only equalized the score, but also raised the enthusiasm of the Liverpool players. This goal was very historic because it broke several new records for Salah. First, this is Salah’s 150th goal in the Premier League. Making himself listed as the first African player to reach that number. This score made Salah even better than his former partner Sadio Mane’s goal record (111). Moreover, the collection of former Chelsea mainstay from Ivory Coast, Didier Drogba (104).
It is very possible that this latest record will provide plus points in the selection of the 2023 African Player of the Year on 11 December. Salah’s name is in the top three nominees, flanked by Victor Oshimen (Nigeria/Napoli) and Achraf Hakimi (Morocco/Paris Saint-Germain). Second, thanks to this additional goal, Salah rose to 10th place in the Premier League’s all-time top scorer list. He shares the position with Michael Owen, who, as we all know, made his name as an English striker in a Liverpool uniform.
Now, Salah is only 12 goals away from Jermaine Defoe (162) in 9th place and 11 goals from Robbie Fowler (161) who is in 8th place. It is not an impossible number for him to achieve in the still very long remaining season. Third, this is Salah’s 200th goal while defending Liverpool. This score moved him up to fifth on the list of the Reds’ eternal top scorers.
With that number, Salah surpassed Fowler, who collected 183 goals throughout his career with Liverpool. Even far ahead of Kenny Dalglish who recorded 172 goals. Fourth, and I think this is what makes the goal against Palace even more special, Salah is the first Liverpool player to score 200 goals this century.
“To be able to score 200 goals, a player can only achieve it if he is really, really, really special,” said Klopp after the match, as quoted by beIN Sports. The four Liverpool players whose goal record surpasses Salah’s all played in the last century. They are Ian Rush (1980-1996), Roger Hunt (1958-1969), Gordon Hodgson (1925-1936) and Billy Liddell (1938-1961).
The breakdown of goals is Rush at the front with 346 goals, followed by Hunt (285), Hodgson (241) and Liddell (228). Thus, Salah only needs to score an additional 28 goals to equal Liddell’s record. If he scores more than that, then Salah will move up to fourth place while displacing Liddell to fifth place.
If you only count goals in the league, Salah only needs 15 more goals to equal Liddell’s record (165). Once again, this is a figure that is not impossible for Salah to achieve in the future. One more note, Salah scored the 200th goal in 327 matches in all competitions. Making his goal average of 0.61 per match better than three of the four names above.
Only Hodgson’s goal average exceeds Salah’s. Namely 241 goals from 377 matches, resulting in an average figure of 0.64 goals per match. The 2023-24 Premier League has only played 16 matches. There are still 22 more matches where Salah can increase his goal tally and record more new records. Interesting to wait.
ASL
