Let’s park the disappointment of last weekend’s penalty miss and captaincy failure and be thankful for Mohamed Salah.
On a day largely bereft of significant Fantasy returns, the Egyptian’s contribution to Liverpool’s 4-1 victory at West Ham was gratefully received by his 1.9 million owners.
What’s more, Salah was once again among the most captained, repairing the damage of Gameweek 10’s modest four-point return for 250,000+ who handed him the armband ahead of today’s deadline.
His 15 points provides further evidence to confirm his status as a midfield “heavy hitter” in what is, to all intents and purposes, his debut Premier League campaign.
His two calmly executed finishes at the London Stadium, coupled with maximum bonus points, took him to 72 for the season.
That elevated Salah above the soaring Leroy Sane at the summit of the overall standings. The German will have his opportunity to reply against Arsenal on Sunday. It remains to be seen if the Man City man can maintain his current rate of output, but you wouldn’t bet against Salah sustaining his.
He is yet to go more than two Gamweeks without a goal and, had he converted the errant spot-kick against Huddersfield, he would be level with Harry Kane in the Golden Boot race.
The comparison doesn’t end there – Kane is the only player to better Salah for shots in the box and shots on target, indicating that his role in Liverpool’s fluid system is that of a striker in anything but name.
Often accused of profligacy, the Egyptian has undoubtedly missed opportunities. But both “eye tests” and statistics reveal a player constantly sniffing out opportunities in the box, while always threatening the possibility of the spectacular.
But lest we forget, we haven’t always been so confident in the Liverpool man.
Back in Gameweeks 8 and 9, there was a lack of faith as some 270,000 managers sold the midfielder. That followed a disappointing blank in a 1-1 draw at Newcastle and Liverpool’s 0-0 stalemate with Manchester United at Anfield.
But those blips are now surely forgotten, and it’s almost certain that those managers have either quickly returned to Salah, or bitterly regret their decision.
Salah is now almost untouchable in our squads and perhaps even edging towards the status of a midfielder that we can truly “trust” with the armband.
On a day that saw Sadio Mane make a shock return to action to play his part in both Salah’s goals, there surely remains no argument.
If we’re limiting our investment in Jurgen Klopp’s attack to one player, Salah is the option to settle upon.
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