Mo Salah in DANGER of missing out on unique Thierry Henry record
Liverpool have had a remarkable season with Mohamed Salah's goal contributions leading the team to Premier League glory, but the player's individual form has fallen off in recent weeks.
I know it's churlish to even begin to critique the Egyptian after the campaign he's delivered, but a noticeable trend has started to take shape and it paints a pretty clear picture.
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The winger is on 33 goals and 23 assists for the season, which is on the brink of surpassing the 44 goals and 14 assists that he delivered back in 2017/18, which was almost seven years ago.
Performing to such a level at the age of 32 instead of 25 is remarkable. His longevity is unmatched.
But there is just one slight hitch, which is that his number of goal contributions has only gone up by two - a goal and an assist - over the last nine games he's featured in. Is he slowing down?
Why we've seen Salah's attacking returns fall off
According to Onze Masr on X, none of the last 15 big chances (key passes) Salah has created have resulted in a goal, which is why he remains three short of breaking Thierry Henry's assist record.
This run goes all the way back to West Ham's visit to Anfield, which is pretty diabolical really.
However, it is worth noting that in three of those five games, Luis Diaz was used as the Reds' centre-forward, so he's hardly had a target man to pick out in the box.
Furthermore, the profligacy within Liverpool's forward line has been merely because the chances have been missed, rather than a lack of chances coming the players' way, and two of those matches have come after the league title has already been decided, so the same focus isn't there.
But it does beg the question, what figures does Salah finish on when the season comes to an end?
The Premier League's golden boot and playmaker awards are essentially wrapped up, as Salah is five goals ahead of Alexander Isak in second place and six assists ahead of Jacob Murphy behind him, with just two league fixtures left for each team to play.
However, there are records to be broken. Alongside Henry's record of 20 assists, which is actually also shared by Kevin De Bruyne, Mo is just two goal contributions away from breaking the all-time record for most goal contributions in a season, surpassing Alan Shearer and Andy Cole's 47, which came in 42-game seasons.
In addition, he will be hoping to breach the 30-goal barrier for the league as well, to try and make him the first player to have 30 goals and 20 assists in Premier League history, although he is two goals and two assists away - so a prolific final two games are required if this one's on the cards.
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Generally speaking, it's extremely harsh to suggest that Salah is slowing down. On Sunday against Arsenal, you could see that the records are playing on his mind, as he often opted to play his teammates in when a shooting chance was available, occasionally doing so at inappropriate times.
Perhaps this is because the title is already secure, so instead of the goal returns being part of his second nature, he's actively thinking about it which is making it all the harder for him to finish chances off.
But it should also come to no surprise that Salah's chances are being wasted because the forward line is an area of the squad that is likely to have the most focus on it when the transfer window opens.
Luis Diaz might leave because of disagreements over his contract, Darwin Nunez's time is firmly up and it seems as though we are reaching the end of the lifespan of Diogo Jota's prolific qualities.
Regardless of what Salah delivers in the last few games of the season, if anything, his campaign will down in history as one of the greatest solo efforts of all time, and if he misses out on breaking some records, then you can count on him to use that disappointment to fuel next season.
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