Mohamed Salah scored the decisive goal to help Liverpool beat Brighton 2-1 in round 10 of the Premier League. At the age of 32, Salah still shows impressive space and timing selection in the opponent's penalty area.
When in good form, Salah is a player with extremely impressive shots. And he is surpassing his expected goals total this season. However, this is not necessarily the reason why the Egyptian has become a special striker. Salah's last 130 Premier League goals have come from an expected goals of 129.86.
In other words, Salah scored the right number of goals expected based on the quality of opportunities he had. What makes the Liverpool striker special is the way he is in the opponent's penalty area.
Salah has had 96 touches in the opposition box this season, more than any other player in the Premier League. He has regained the top spot from Bukayo Saka, who led the metric last season. But remember, Salah has also been top for the previous 6 seasons.
"The top of the table is where Liverpool belong. It can't be lower. All teams won the match, but there was only one champion in the end. That is what we want. Thank you for your support last night. No matter what happens, I will never forget the feeling of scoring at Anfield" - Salah said after the win over Brighton.
Since signing for Liverpool in the summer of 2017, Salah has had 2,261 touches in the opposition box, nearly double that of any other player except Raheem Sterling. This is a really amazing statistic.
2024 Ballon d'Or Rodri may have had the most touches on the pitch but Salah was still exempt in the box. If he continues to maintain this, the Egyptian striker promises to create many more impressive goals.
Currently, the Liverpool player is 8th in the Premier League's all-time scorer list after scoring against Brighton. Not only has Salah affirmed his position in the domestic league, he has also played explosively in the Champions League. He is facing the opportunity to equal Ruud van Nistelrooy's record for scoring in 6 consecutive home matches.
"I don't look at the players' Instagram posts, I just talk to them, which you can't! So that was my advantage. Salah is in good form, as long as he is at Liverpool, he always gives his best" - Arne Slot replied when asked about Salah's uncertain future.
