The Mohamed Salah was clinical once more this Saturday as Liverpool beat Southampton 3-1, netting twice and moving into third position on the club's all-time top scorers' list. With 243 goals now on his tally, he surpasses Gordon Hodgson (241) and gets closer to Roger Hunt (285) and Ian Rush (346).
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Salah joined an exclusive list in the Premier League as well, equaling Sergio Agüero as the league's fifth-highest scoring player with 184 goals. Should his present performance persist, Andrew Cole comes next with 187 goals.
The player himself confessed that the performance of Liverpool was not its best, yet he emphasized it was a necessity to win even on bad days.
"Yeah, it was a very tough game, they played a great game plan. It served them well in the first half. But I'm glad we were able to turn around in the second half and secure the win."
Records, goals, and a standout season
Salah's campaign has been nothing short of phenomenal. Two more goals this weekend and he now has 27 goals this season, leading the Premier League. But he's not just scoring, he also leads the assists table (17), becoming the player with the most goal involvements this season.
His 44 direct contributions to goals leave him tied with Thierry Henry (2002/03) and Erling Haaland (2022/23) for the most involvements in a 38-game Premier League campaign. The total record is still held by Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole with 47 involvements in 42-game campaigns.
When asked if he considered equaling Agüero's Premier League goal count, Salah was respectful to one of the league's all-time greatest forwards.
"I knew about the record, but I didn't look at it during the match. But yeah, I do know about it. It's a fantastic record to equal; Sergio was a fantastic player, a legend of this league. So I'm happy about that and the win as well."
The comparison with Agüero is fitting. The Argentine scored 184 goals in 275 matches, while Salah reached the same number of goals in 292 games. The difference lies in the fact that Salah is a winger and scores as many goals as he assists, while Agüero was a Manchester City pure striker.
Salah is Liverpool's most crucial player
Even after years of dominating, Mohamed Salah is still Liverpool's most consistent player. He doesn't just score, he assists, leads, and is consistent at a level few in the club's history have matched.
Salah, 31, is already Liverpool's Premier League lead scorer and is closing in on Roger Hunt, the club's second-highest scorer ever. He is considered by most to be one of the best ever to have worn the Liverpool shirt.
But Salah himself knows that individual records are not the only thing. His top priority is helping Liverpool win another Premier League title and battle for Champions League honors again.
Touching on the performance of his team, Salah admitted that Liverpool was not at its optimum against Southampton but stressed the importance of winning ugly: "If you want to win the Champions League or the Premier League, you have to win these kinds of games."
Striving for Andrew Cole and grabbing a top-four Premier League spot
Now, Salah is just three goals behind Andrew Cole (187) and has a great chance to finish the season as the fourth-highest scorer in Premier League history. The current top five are:
- Alan Shearer – 260 goals
- Harry Kane – 213 goals
- Wayne Rooney – 208 goals
- Andrew Cole – 187 goals
- Mohamed Salah and Sergio Agüero – 184 goals
By his current rate of scoring, Salah can actually enter the top three in the foreseeable future. It's not that impossible based on what he has achieved so far. And if he keeps doing this, then Salah is a safe bet to be the best player in the world.