From 6ft 3in powerhouse to dominant powerhouse, to a new generation’s love of the Egyptian winger, here’s how Salah has changed the modern game
Mo Salah is great at football: not far off the best player in the Premier League and the leading contender for the 2017 Ballon d’Or. He’s also outstanding in the role: one who, as commonly practised, thrives in the team with a “false 10” position and an incredible leap. He’s hard to mark, clear of any major negatives in the durability of his body and an exceptional dribbler.
Salah’s amazing start and high praise from footballing royalty offer a snapshot of how an almost esoteric role has taken the Egyptian winger to a level where, as the Mail’s Vincent Kompany said in praise of his exceptional effort in scoring the equaliser against Liverpool, “I never would have thought this”.
Now five games in and Salah’s goal tally in that span stands at five, giving him more in that period than Alexis Sánchez, Lukaku, Benfica’s Neves and, perhaps more surprisingly, his Liverpool team-mate Firmino.
Salah’s one slight disadvantage is his height – the league’s most stooping and dominant 90s 1.99metres, only on the par with 15th century generals – but how about this?
Who played the most competitive games in history, without scoring, in a capacity outside of defensive midfield. His level of contribution to winning was incredible.
Is this Salah, the David Beckham of Egypt, or Salah the Beckham of Liverpool?
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