There was a school of thought in the summer that this season would be one of transition for Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp leaving was reason enough to think that, but Mohamed Salah was simply in no mood to accept it.
It would be a stretch to say Salah has single-handedly pulled Liverpool toward the Premier League title — that would be unfair to the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch — but the Egyptian is having an all-timer of a campaign. His unrivaled brilliance only accentuates the fact that he could leave for nothing in just a few months.
Salah has now become the first player in Premier League history to be involved in 40 or more goals in two different seasons. In 2017/18, he got 42 (broken down as 32 goals and 10 assists). This season, still with around a third of the games to play, the Liverpool forward has already hit the 40 mark (25 goals, 15 assists).
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And it is not just in terms of the on-ball value that he holds, either. Salah was magnificent going both ways in Manchester, with the Egyptian putting others to shame in terms of his work ethic.
Kevin De Bruyne is just a year older than Salah but there could not have been more of a difference here. While the Liverpool ace was full of energy, the Belgian's struggles continued. At this point, it seems inevitable that he will leave Manchester City when his contract expires in the summer — meanwhile, it should be inevitable that Salah pens an extension.
While De Bruyne looks set to move to MLS, it would be a travesty if Salah was anywhere other than at Anfield when the 2025/26 campaign kicks off in August. For both him and his current employer, nothing else would make sense.
Salah worked back harder than ever before and threw himself wholeheartedly into helping the team. He got his goal via a very clever corner routine that caught Manchester City out and then with a lead to hold, Liverpool defended diligently.
Contrast that to some of Manchester City's key men: Pep Guardiola flung his arms in the air when Phil Foden didn't track his man in the first half and then looked helpless as Salah breezed past Josko Gvardiol as if the Croatian was not there.
"I think the numbers speak for themselves," Slot said during his post-match press conference. "What pleased me most today is that mostly we have — in every game apart from this one I think, and maybe the home game against City or Chelsea — more ball possession so that means we bring him many, many, many times in promising positions.
"Today there wasn’t that many moments we could bring [Salah] in promising positions, but these seven, eight, nine or 10 moments that we gave him the ball in those positions, he was every time a threat. That probably tells you even more the quality player he is."
Salah will stop at nothing to ensure that Liverpool wins the Premier League title this season. But if you sat him down and he was honest, that is just the start of his aims. The league is what he wants most, but the ambition for the Reds this season should extend into Europe too, where only a small number of teams — admittedly including PSG, who are up next — stand a chance of beating them.
"It’s not so easy for an attacker if he has to defend, defend, defend," Slot continued. "And then he gets the ball and does something special, that’s sometimes difficult. But at the moment, not many things seem difficult for Mo."
Right now, there is no one better in world soccer. The numbers speak for themselves, but there is plenty more about Salah even beyond his outstanding rate of goals and assists.
