The Evolution of Mo Salah in Liverpool 2.0

Written before the Luton Town - Liverpool game on 05/11/2023

For a player who “wanted to take the big bag” and go to Saudi Arabia this summer because his “head was turned”, Mohamed Salah has been exceptional for Liverpool since the start of this season (amidst a flurry of transfer stories in the early weeks of him going to the Middle East, mostly forced by a certain organisation in London).

Make no mistake though, Salah has been exceptional for Liverpool since 2017. As Jürgen Klopp has mentioned on multiple occasions, the Egyptian King is one of the top pros in the game (i.e, he never down tools and becomes petty). The winger (yes he is that) is fifth in the club’s all-time top goalscorers list with a games-to-goal ratio of 1.63. In the top 10 players on that list, only Gordon Hodgson had a better ratio with 1.56 [courtesy - LFCStats].

Talking about the present and how he is doing this season, Salah seems to have evolved his game a bit to become more of a playmaker from the right wing who is comfortable entering the box and scoring goals (as editor Chris Rowland pointed out - “he is like a wide false 10”). 

The link up with the Dominik Szoboszlai on the right-hand side has been almost telepathic. With Trent Alexander-Arnold tucking into midfield, the onus is on the right-sided midfielder and the right winger to stretch the game on that side. They are doing it with aplomb at the moment.

Let’s analyse how much change Salah has undergone this season compared to the last few with the help of comparative numbers and more.

Comparative Analysis

This section contains Salah’s numbers from this season compared with the last four to enable us to understand the change in the methodology of his game. Premier League numbers are taken.

The 2021/22 season was when he produced top numbers on both goals and assists front (despite a drop-off post the AFCON). We are witnessing a similar trend this time around, but it won’t be surprising to see the assist rate go beyond the 0.5-mark. The charts below will testify about that.

xAG is Expected Assisted Goals, defined as the xG which follows a pass that assists a shot.

Looking at the xAG numbers, it is not only more than the last four seasons, it is that for throughout his Liverpool career. That is why I claimed that the assist rate can breach the 0.5-mark before/until May 2024.